Digimon: The College Years
by The Create Card
Summary: Our favorite characters are going to college. It's going to be a long year of fun, excitement, and the unexpected as we look at life in Odaiba University. (Slightly AU. Tamers/02 X-over) APOLOGIES FOR THE DELAY...AGAIN!
1. Moving Day

Author's Note: Well, this is it! I've been eagerly awaiting this day for a long time! It's the start of a new series! YES, a WEEKLY SERIES! Meaning this will continue for a long time and, eventually, I hope this will become my legacy! But we all have to start somewhere…so here's Episode 1 of what's sure to be a great series, IMHO. (By the way, it's AU for only MINIMAL spoilers. Those watching Tamers should have no fear of their season being spoiled. And besides, how else could the 02 DigiDestined and the Tamers be in the same school? ^_^)

  


**Digimon: The College Years**

Episode 1- Moving Day

  


"Wow…I still can't believe it."

Davis Motomiya, at eighteen years old, still couldn't believe the day had come. He was actually going to college at the enormous Odaiba University. And he still couldn't believe how big it was. It was much larger than Odaiba High School and it almost looked like a whole new world. And having seen the Digital World, that was really saying something.

"Hey, Davis! Are you just gonna stand there or are you gonna help us?"

Davis turned around to see his two friends unloading the car. First, there was TK Takaishi, the good-natured young man. Sporting blond hair and his trademark white hat, TK unloaded some of the suitcases to bring into the dorm building. Then there was Ken Ichijouji, the boy genius and one of Davis' best friends. Though he wasn't as smart as he used to be, Ken was still the most intelligent out of the whole bunch. Ken not only wore his ever-present gray ensemble, but he also sported something else on his shoulder as he unloaded more suitcases. He had his dear friend and Digimon companion, Wormmon.

"It's so big over here, Ken," Wormmon said. "It's not like any other place I've ever seen."

Davis knew Wormmon would get along just fine in the dorm room. He could hide rather easily. That was another thing that was going to make college the best time of Davis' life. He was rooming in the only triple in the building. And his roommates…would be Ken and TK. That got Davis very excited…and almost looking forward to school. ALMOST.

Davis walked over to the backseat to unload some of the other luggage. He took some of the luggage and walked alongside TK. There was never a time when Davis got along more with TK than now. There used to be a lot of tension between the two boys in the past. And it all had to do with their mutual affection for the beautiful Kari Kamiya.

Davis and TK used to compete for Kari a lot, especially after their adventures in the Digital World ended. But Kari wasn't in a hurry to get into a relationship at the time. In fact, a LOT of time passed before Kari eventually ended up choosing TK when they were all 12. But after a few years…an irreconcilable fight happened and TK and Kari broke up. Neither Davis nor any of their friends ever found out WHY they broke up, since they all thought it was a horrible misunderstanding. They knew what happened was because of a charade by the evil Etemon*****, but for some reason…they broke up anyway. And it didn't help that TK always refused to talk about the circumstances that led to their breakup.

Kari had remained single for a long time after that and Davis had enough sensitivity to know she wouldn't be in a hurry to get in a new relationship. But one day, Davis finally got the courage to ask Kari out on a date. Unfortunately, it wasn't until AFTER another adventure into the Dark Ocean that Davis got the chance to pop the question to Kari.* But with TK's blessing, Davis DID ask Kari out on a date…and Kari said yes.

Life couldn't be any better for Davis Motomiya. He was on top of the world. Not only was he going out with Kari soon, but she would also be living in his building on the second floor, one floor above Davis. And having his two best friends as roommates, life didn't get much better. Of course, there was someone being left out for the moment…and he was also helping carry out the luggage.

It was sixteen-year-old Cody Hida, who was just getting started with his junior year of high school. Davis wished he didn't have to be so far behind them, but Cody didn't seem to be taking it hard at all. And he would always be welcome in their room.

Cody looked out at the huge campus. "I can't wait to come here in two years. I can't believe I have another two years of high school left."

"It'll all go by fast," TK smiled.

"It didn't go by fast for me," Davis said. "It couldn't go any slower for me."

"Yeah, but you were always a slacker," TK grinned.

"You can't keep up those habits, Davis," Ken added. "If you do, college will eat you for breakfast."

Davis decided to take that as a challenge. College life couldn't faze him. He would come out of it just fine. And there was nothing that said Davis wouldn't LOVE the next four years. As he thought about what else could happen, Davis went to the back seat to get another suitcase, but a blue hand handed it to him.

"Here you go, Davish."

Davis sweatdropped and took the suitcase…and saw his Digimon partner, Veemon. "Veemon! I told you! You can't come with me!"

The little blue Digimon pointed behind him. "It was Patamon's idea."

Davis moved another suitcase aside revealing TK's partner Digimon, Patamon, who looked as excited as a dog going for a car ride…at least until he was caught. The two Digimon had stowed away.

"I told you this wasn't gonna work," Patamon pouted. "We really DIDN'T get past the parking lot."

"It sounded like a great idea at the time," Veemon grinned.

"TK!" Davis called out. "We've got a problem!"

TK walked over to Davis. "What is it?" Then he sweatdropped when he saw the problem. "Patamon! I said you couldn't come with me. What if someone sees you?"

Patamon put on a sad puppy-dog look. "I promise I'll be good, TK. I won't let anybody see me. I can live in one of the closets."

"Me too," cheerful Veemon piped up. "Nobody has to even know we're here."

"No," Davis and TK said in unison.

"But Wormmon gets to go," Veemon whined.

"Wormmon can hide a lot easier," Ken responded, having heard Veemon. "Besides, Wormmon and I are best friends. I can't just leave him behind."

Veemon looked up at Davis sadly. "But I thought we were best friends, too, Davish."

Patamon was almost in tears. "TK…I thought I was your best friend, too."

Davis couldn't take this. It hurt him to see Veemon like this. He turned to TK. "TK…can't we give them a chance? Maybe we could try hiding them."

TK tried to act as a voice of reason. "Davis, think about it. There's no telling who our Resident Advisors could be. If they get seen, who knows what'll happen."

Davis frowned. "But look at them."

TK looked over to see Veemon and Patamon with sad, yet hopeful, looks on their faces. And it didn't look like he could resist that.

"Well…ok…they can stay. But they HAVE to hide whenever someone's about to come in!"

Veemon and Patamon were both ecstatic upon hearing TK agree, but Davis stopped them just as they were about to jump out of the car.

"You have to be inconspicuous," Davis said.

"Inconspicuous? That's a big word for you, Davis," TK teased.

"Hey, I've learned SOMETHING in high school," Davis frowned. "I even know what 'inconspicuous' MEANS!"

With 'inconspicuous' being the key word, Veemon and Patamon decided to stay behind in the car for the time being. And they cleared the way for Davis, TK, Ken, and Cody to finish unloading everything. Now that it crossed his mind, Davis realized that maybe it was better that the Digimon came alone. Maybe they could make life ever MORE interesting than it was set to be.

The stage was now set…for the best years of Davis Motomiya's life.

* * *

"Um…is this everything?"

The back of the van was completely stuffed full of suitcases, but eighteen-year-old Takato Matsuki still had a feeling that he was forgetting something. And he didn't want to forget anything before going off to a new life at Odaiba University.

"Are you kidding me?" Terriermon scoffed. "You can't even fit a toothpick through all that. That HAS to be everything."

"Looks like everything to me," eighteen-year-old Henry Wong added. "There's no way we forgot anything. We're all set! Kenta and Kazu said they'd catch up, right?"

"They said they'd meet us there," Takato answered. "And they said they'd bring the cards."

"What about Guardromon?" Henry asked curiously.

"Uh…I don't know about that one," Takato admitted. "They said they wouldn't bring Guardromon yet. They just said they'd have the cards."

"I hope they don't forget them," Henry said. "You think anybody else in the building will know about the card game?"

"If they don't, then that's what we'll be there for," Takato replied. "It'll up to us to educate them."

"Of course. And when it comes to the card game, we ARE good teachers. We've already taught everyone at the high school…how to beat us."

"They just got lucky," Takato muttered.

Takato and Henry had been best friends for many years and they were both very excited about this new stage in their lives. They were about to go off to college together. Not only that, but they'd also be roommates. Things didn't get any sweeter than that.

Of course, it wasn't like they'd both be alone just themselves. Kenta and Kazu would both be there, too. In fact, they would be living next door to Takato and Henry. And there would always be Terriermon, Henry's partner, who could often be seen hanging on Henry's shoulder. But Terriermon could find just about any hiding place and even if he couldn't find one, he could hide himself very easily. Terriermon had spent his first years often masquerading himself as a stuffed animal.

Takato had a Digimon partner of his own…someone he wished he could bring along. But size would definitely be an issue and Takato finally decided it was best if he left him behind.

"Takato!"

It hurt Takato to hear that voice. He turned around and saw his Digimon partner, Guilmon, running up to him. And he looked very excited…which obviously meant that the news hadn't sunk into him yet. Guilmon looked passed Takato and towards the van.

"There's a lot of stuff in there, Takato. Where will I sit?"

Takato put a hand on his partner's shoulder. "Guilmon…boy…I can't take you with me."

"But why not?" Guilmon asked sadly.

Takato tried to put it delicately. "Well…how do I say this? Well…the dorms aren't really as big as we'd hoped. And…we DO have a lot of stuff. It could get really packed in there…"

"What he's TRYING to say is," Terriermon chimed in, "you're JUST TOO BIG! There's no way you could keep yourself inconspicuous; you're a huge red lizard! I don't even think you'd be able to fit in the closet. I don't even think you could fit under the bed."

"Um…thanks, Terriermon," Takato said dryly. He turned to Guilmon. "I'm really sorry, boy."

Guilmon hung his head down. "But I'm gonna miss you, Takato."

Takato tried to crack a smile. "Come on, buddy. I'll come visit. It's not like I'm going away forever. I'm just…leaving for a while. I promise I'll come visit you."

Guilmon gave Takato a big hug. "Remember, you promised!"

Takato returned the hug and walked over to the driver's seat. With Henry and Terriermon in the passenger's seat, it was finally time to go. It was time to go off and start a new life. Takato started the van, but before he drove off, he looked out the window.

"Goodbye, Guilmon! Don't give my parents any trouble!"

Takato pulled out of the driveway and looked at his rear-view mirror to see Guilmon waving sadly. It broke Takato's heart to see that.

"Are you sure you're doing the right thing?" Henry asked.

Takato hesitated. "I…guess so. I wish I COULD bring him with me, though."

It was almost too much for Takato. So to avoid getting the urge to turn back, he didn't look back…at the friend he was leaving behind.

* * *

It was just another day in the good old sewer pipe for Impmon. He passed the day as he usually did lately. He bounced a baseball off the wall and caught it with his hand. It was kinda fun, but no one would ever get him to admit it. He knew he'd have to thank Calumon someday, but no one would ever get him to say it. It wasn't his style.

Impmon was rude and crude. He was a bad little Digimon with attitude. But of course, he wasn't all bad. He did have a heart; he just didn't want to show it. And he did have his share of friends, one of whom was on her way.

Impmon kept waiting for Renamon to arrive. She said she had something to tell him. Now that he thought of it, she had been acting pretty weird. It was like she didn't want to tell him something. But Impmon dealt with the worst life had to offer so many times. What could she possibly tell him that could be so potentially damaging?

He didn't know what to make of it and, in fact, it hardly bothered him. He just kept casually tossing the baseball around and catching it. Suddenly, he tossed the baseball in another direction, knowing someone was arriving. Sure enough, someone skillfully caught the ball in the palm of her hand. It was Renamon.

"Nice catch, toots," Impmon grinned. "So what kept ya?"

Renamon tossed the ball back to Impmon. "I had to give Rika a hand. She…has her hands full right now."

"What's got HER so busy?" Impmon scoffed. "She going back to school or something? Is it that time of year already?"

"I'm…afraid so."

"Hey Renamon, I don't know much about humans or how they're educated, so I don't know too much about this whole idea of school. But didn't Rika graduate a few months ago? Doesn't that mean she don't need to go to school no more?"

Renamon stayed silent. Impmon calmly bounced the ball, but couldn't help but wonder what was keeping her quiet. It was an awfully simple question.

"Impmon…humans have another stage of education to complete after high school. They move on to a stage of higher learning known as college."

Impmon bounced the ball again. "Uh huh. So that means she's going to another new school?"

"Yes she is. But…there's more to it than that. Impmon, there's something I have to tell you."

"Yeah well hurry up and spit it out," the nonchalant Impmon said.

Renamon finally came out and said it. "Rika is going to college in a city called Odaiba…which is located far away from West Shinjuku."

Impmon finally saw where this was going. "Hmm…does that mean what I think it does?"

"I'm afraid it does. I am going to accompany Rika to Odaiba. And that means I'm going to have to leave."

Impmon didn't like hearing that. "Oh, I see what it is. You don't like being around me, so the answer's to leave, is that it?"

"Impmon, it isn't that at all. But I can't allow Rika to leave without me. We're partners."

"So just when were planning to tell me this?" Impmon demanded.

"I'm telling you right now," Renamon pointed out.

Impmon sweatdropped. "Oh yeah. Well…why didn't you tell me earlier? It doesn't help me to find out right when you're about to leave. Uh…when ARE you leaving, anyway?"

"In five minutes."

"FIVE MINUTES?! And you're telling me now?! What were you waiting for?! You might as well have sent me a postcard!"

"It wasn't easy for me to tell you this. I consider you a good friend, Impmon. And it isn't easy saying goodbye to a friend. But I'm afraid there are just some things that are unavoidable. This is one of them. I must go."

Impmon scowled. "Yeah, well…I guess if you have to. At least I'll have the others…I guess."

"I'm…afraid it's not that simple. The others are also going to Odaiba."

Now Impmon was angry. "WHAT?! They're all leaving, too?! And I'm just learning about this NOW?! So what's this mean, Renamon?! I'm just gonna stay here all by myself?! Now I ain't gonna have nobody?!"

"I'm sorry, Impmon," Renamon said solemnly.

Impmon formed a fireball at his fingertip and tossed it behind him. "Then go! I don't need any of ya! Get outta here!"

"Impmon, please don't be angry. It's not like we'll never see you again. We'll try to come and visit. Please don't let our last meeting be an unpleasant one."

"I don't need any of ya. I've been a loner my whole life. I guess I just took a break for a while. Just…just get outta here. Go away."

Renamon sighed deeply and turned to leave. "Very well. Goodbye, Impmon. I came to say goodbye because whether you believe me or not, I will miss you."

Impmon turned around to watch Renamon slowly walk away. He knew he'd miss her too. He'd miss them all. Even if they were just humans, they were still his friends. And so were their Digimon. They had been Impmon's only friends. And now they were leaving him. He wanted to say goodbye. He wanted to say he'd miss them too.

But he didn't like to be emotional. That wasn't his style.

* * *

Guilmon couldn't believe this was happening. His lifelong friend was leaving him. When he was first created, the first one Guilmon saw was Takato. Takato had always been there for him and now he was gone. Guilmon didn't want to go on without him.

All Guilmon could do now was stay in Takato's room and think about the past. Everything felt like it had gone by so fast. Guilmon wished he could still be around Takato…and have fun with him, just like it used to be. Five years had gone by too fast.

"Hi, Mrs. Matsuki!" a voice called down in the floor below. "Is Takato still here?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, Jeri. You just missed him. I think he already left to go to the university. Shouldn't you be getting ready to go, too?"

"Yeah…but I was hoping to see Takato one more time before I left."

Guilmon got up and walked downstairs and looked out into the bread store, owned by Takato's parents. And that's where he saw eighteen-year-old Jeri Katou, Takato's longtime friend…and crush. She had lived quite a past, even having left West Shinjuku for a few years to go see a psychiatrist. And after a year of being in West Shinjuku, she was getting ready to go off to Odaiba. Jeri was about to turn to leave, but looked out at the stairs and saw Guilmon.

"Mrs. Matsuki? Is it ok if I have a word with Guilmon?"

"Oh sure, Jeri. He's right in there."

Jeri walked passed Takato's mom and walked towards the stairs where Guilmon was sitting. Jeri sat right beside him.

"You didn't go, Guilmon?" Jeri asked.

Guilmon shook his head. "Takato said I couldn't go. He said I wouldn't fit in the dorm and it would be too hard to hide me because I'm too big."

Jeri frowned. "Takato gives up too easily. Come on, Guilmon. It can't be THAT hard to hide you. You can always pretend to be a stuffed animal. You've seen Terriermon do it for years. Show me you can do it, too."

Guilmon thought about that. And then he decided to try it. He froze in place and didn't move a muscle. That didn't mean Jeri wouldn't test him. She waved her hand in front of his face. She tried making faces in an attempt to get Guilmon to flinch. But none of it worked. Finally, Jeri tried tickling Guilmon under his chin.

Guilmon started giggling. "Stop it, Jeri. That tickles."

Jeri sweatdropped. "We'll keep working on it. But *I* think you're good to go. You should be over there with Takato right now, Guilmon."

"But Takato already left without me," Guilmon moped.

Jeri kept on smiling. "So? That doesn't mean anything. I'll tell you what. Why don't you ride with me? You can practice being a stuffed animal on the way over there."

"You really mean it, Jeri?" Guilmon asked excitedly.

"Of course!" Jeri nodded. "And if Takato says anything, you just tell him to talk to me. Now come on, let's get going."

Guilmon felt so excited. "Oh boy! College!"

Jeri took Guilmon by the hand and started carrying him out. But Guilmon was much heavier than he looked. So Jeri decided to use the shopping cart Takato always used. It was lying in Takato's closet. Guilmon jumped on and made himself comfortable.

"Now try and practice being a stuffed animal. Ok, Guilmon?"

Guilmon nodded and stayed perfectly still while Jeri carefully wheeled the cart down the stairs. Mrs. Matsuki, who was working the bread store, looked at Jeri curiously.

"Jeri…where are you taking Guilmon?"

"Oh…he wanted to say goodbye," Jeri grinned. "He'll be back later. Bye, Mrs. Matsuki!"

"Um…bye, Jeri."

Jeri wheeled the cart out to her car, which was parked by the sidewalk. When no one was looking, Jeri opened the passenger-side door and let Guilmon jump in. Jeri left the shopping cart back in the bread store and got in her car.

"I guess it's better this way," Jeri smiled. "I didn't want to go off to the university by myself."

"What about Rika?" Guilmon asked, remembering that Rika was going to be Jeri's roommate.

"You know Rika," Jeri sighed. "She said she'd catch up. I wonder what it'll be like living with HER for the entire year? You know how she can get."

"You don't have to spend ALL your time with her," Guilmon reminded her. "Takato's gonna be downstairs on the first floor, you know."

Jeri blushed. "Well…that's true. I have a feeling I'll be down there a lot."

Taking a deep breath, Jeri started the car. And then they were off. Guilmon stuck his head out the passenger window and looked back at the bread store one last time. Now HE was off to a new life and a new experience. But there was one thing that lingered in the back of Guilmon's mind.

"Um…Jeri?"

"Yes, Guilmon?"

"I never asked Takato this. Can I ask YOU this question?"

"Sure! Go ahead."

"Uh…what IS college?"

Jeri immediately sweatdropped and Guilmon could sense he'd be in for a long explanation.

* * *

It was another day of what seemed to be the longest vacation Riley Ootori had ever had. After going through her rigorous schedule, she needed a break and now she finally has one. Serving as a government agent was very stressful, especially considering some of the strange things that Riley and her colleagues from Hypnos had witnessed. This was her chance to relax.

Unfortunately, this was a pretty boring day that Riley was spending in the Tokyo apartment she had been living in for the past two years. She still wasn't awake yet and she couldn't bring herself to shake off the cobwebs.

"Riley, are you just going to lie there all day?"

That was Riley's roommate, coworker, and longtime friend Talley Onodera. Talley, with straight brown hair that came down to her neck, hadn't changed much in the past five years. She was still one of the most curious people Riley had ever known, always looking into strange phenomena. She's still a big thinker, one of the qualities that made her such a valuable agent for the government. And she was always loyal, much like Riley herself was.

Talley had spent the whole day cleaning the apartment, which was far from clean. And after a wild few nights, Talley probably wanted her room looking a LITTLE presentable. And she apparently didn't appreciate being alone in the cleaning effort.

Riley rolled over…and fell off her bed. "AAH!" She moaned and moved some of her own red hair that fell over her face. "What day is it?"

Talley shook her head. "It's Tuesday and it's two in the afternoon. How many shots did you have last night?"

Riley rubbed her eyes and then her head. "I don't know. I think I lost count after the third one."

"That's not becoming of a government agent. What if we get called back to work and have to take a blood test or something?"

"Talley, we've been on vacation for over a month and there's no end in sight. I don't think we're getting called back to work anytime soon. And to think they'd dare give us a blood test NOW would be nothing short of paranoia."

"I'm being cautious," the short-haired Talley shot back. "It would help you to be prepared for the unexpected. You never know what might happen."

Before Talley could give Riley any more of a lecture, the phone started ringing. Riley took this opportunity to get out having to hear Talley's speech on the overconsumption of alcohol and answer it, even if the phone's incessant ringing made her headache worse. She finally picked it up.

"Hello?"

_"Riley? It's been a long time."_

Riley recognized the voice on the other end. It was her superior and friend, Mitsuo Yamaki.

"It really has. To what do I owe the pleasure, Mitsuo?"

_"I know you still have that new model phone, so go ahead and put me on speakerphone. I'd like to speak to you and Talley."_

Riley couldn't help but feel a little uneasy. If Yamaki wanted to speak with both of them, then this was probably serious. This probably meant it would soon be time to go back to work. Maybe Talley was right.

"Talley, come here," Riley called. She pushed the button to turn the speakerphone on. "Ok, we're both here. I take it this isn't a social call?"

_"I'm afraid it isn't. But before anything, how are your vacations going so far?"_

"Um…a lot of fun," Talley grinned. "You simply MUST join us one night, sir. Why, you should have seen Riley last night…"

"TALLEY!" Riley snapped. "Excuse her, sir. The dust from the vacuum's gone to her brain. Our off-time's been very relaxing."

_"That's good to hear. Unfortunately, I'll have to cut your vacations a little short. Agents…friends…I'll need your help. We have a dire situation on our hands."_

"How bad is it?" Riley asked.

_"Let me put it this way…it sounds a lot like what we went through five years ago. And while it isn't nearly as big a threat as the D-Reaper YET…if we don't take action soon, it very would could reach that stage."_

Riley and Talley exchanged glances. Neither one of them had forgotten how much wanton destruction the D-Reaper left in its path. If something like that ever invaded again, it could very well be the end of civilization. But there couldn't be anything else like the D-Reaper out there, could there?

"We'll do whatever we can," Riley finally said. "What DO you want us to do, sir?"

_"Perhaps this isn't the best place to explain it. It's better I give you the briefing in person. How soon can you two get to my apartment?"_

Riley and Talley looked around their apartment. It looked like a tornado had hit. It was either head to Yamaki's apartment in West Shinjuku…or stay and clean.

"We'll be there right away!" Riley exclaimed.

"Immediately, sir!" Talley added.

_"That's good. Be here pronto, for we have a long mission ahead of us. And Riley, Talley…it'll be good to be working with you again."_

The phone went dead and Riley and Talley both sighed. Their vacation had come to an abrupt end. And it looked like they were both in for a long mission. Such a sudden revelation got Riley's head hurting even worse.

Talley smirked. "Better hope we don't get that blood test."

"Oh shut up. You're driving, right?"

"Ok, but you're vacuuming when we come back. IF we come back."

Riley and Talley walked to the door and looked back one more time. They couldn't for the life of them guess what Yamaki could possibly have to reveal when they got back to West Shinjuku. They just knew that whatever it was…

…it was a major threat.

* * *

"Are you sure you haven't forgotten anything?"

Night was beginning to fall and boxes upon boxes still filled the inside of eighteen-year-old Kari Kamiya's car. And it would take a lot of effort to clear the car and take all the boxes out. Luckily, Kari had a friend there who was more than willing to help her out. It was nineteen-year-old Yolei Inoue, who was going into her sophomore year at Odaiba University.

Yolei was one of Kari's dearest friends, but now more than ever, Kari would be relying on her a lot more. Kari would go into her freshman year knowing very little about college life. That's where Yolei would help her out and show her the ropes.

"This looks like everything," Kari answered her friend.

"AAGH! It HAS to be everything!" a muffled voice cried out amidst the mess.

Kari sweatdropped when she heard who it was. Yolei rushed over and took a box out, giving Kari's Digimon companion, Gatomon, some breathing room. Gatomon gasped for air, as if she had been suffocated by all those boxes.

"It's great to have some fresh air again," Gatomon said, taking a deep breath.

"Gatomon, I'm so sorry!" Kari apologized. "I didn't know I was crushing you."

Gatomon jumped out of the car and stretched. "It's ok, Kari. Sure it was uncomfortable, but I won't be catty about it."

Kari looked out towards the dorm building where she would be living for the next year. "Yolei…what's it like? Dorming?"

"Kari, that's the millionth time you've asked me that," Yolei sighed. Then she smiled. "But I'll tell you again! You'll LOVE it! There's never a dull moment!"

"Really?"

"Well…as soon as you forget all the boring parts…YEAH!"

Kari smiled. "Sounds great! I can't wait!" Then her face fell. "But…there is ONE thing that bothers me."

"What's that, Kari?"

"Well…at least Davis, TK, and Ken know who THEY'RE rooming with."

"Duh! They're rooming with EACH OTHER," Yolei pointed out.

"I know, but…I wish *I* knew who I was rooming with," Kari sighed. "I have no idea who my roommate will be."

"I wish I could help you there, Kari," Yolei concurred. "But even *I* don't know what to tell you on that one. It could be just about anybody. But I know how you feel. I don't know who my roommate is, either. All I know is that she's a foreign transfer student from France. I have no idea who she is."

Kari hung her head down. At least Yolei had some vague details about her roommate, but Kari knew nothing and she couldn't get that out of her head. She would be living in a double with one roommate. And it could be just about anybody. It could either be the roommate from heaven…or from…

"I wish you could be my roommate, Yolei," Kari frowned.

Yolei shook her head. "You know that can't happen, Kari. Not until NEXT year, anyway. But you know I'll be in your room so much, it'll be like I PRACTICALLY live there!"

Kari smiled. "Well…I guess that's the best I could hope for."

"Just don't think about it too much until she actually shows up," Yolei suggested. "In the meantime, let's just finish unloading your stuff."

"Well…ok. Give me a hand with this. And stay in the car, Gatomon."

Kari and Yolei both grabbed a large box and started slowly lugging it towards one of the doors that led inside the dorms. The contents had to be HUGE…and that meant it had to be the TV. But there was a problem they were both approaching and that was the door. The door was closed. But luckily, there was one other girl who was just arriving and it looked like she could hold the door open.

"Hey!" Kari cried, between grunts and groans. "Could you hold the door open, please?"

The girl turned around and shook her head. Kari tried to get a good look at her. The girl was about Kari's height with red hair arranged in a ponytail that stood up. She also had light purple eyes…that didn't exactly look too spirited. She wore a pair of jeans and a shirt with a broken heart on it. Kari wondered if this was her roommate.

The girl sighed and held the door open while Kari and Yolei carried the box in and put it down on the ground. Kari turned around and decided to get to know this person a little better.

"Hi there!" Kari said cheerfully. When the girl didn't return the smile, Kari decided to just keep trying to be friendly. "I was just about to move my stuff in. I live in Room 205."

The girl shook her head again. "Great. I live in 206, so I guess I'll be living across from you."

Kari kept her cheerful demeanor. "That's great! My name's Kari and this is Yolei. She's going into her sophomore year."

The girl didn't even hint at a smile. "My name's Rika." She looked at Kari and shrugged. "I guess I could have worse neighbors."

"So you're living across from me?" Kari asked, not losing her spirit. "Maybe we could get to know each other sometime!"

Rika just shrugged and started walking away. "Yeah, whatever."

As soon as Rika was away, Kari lost her smile and frowned. The first exchange didn't go quite as pleasantly as she had hoped.

"What's HER problem?" Yolei growled, with that usual sincerity of hers.

Kari moaned softly. That would be the girl who would be living across from her. The stage was set for this to be a VERY long year.

  


Next Week: We get into the second half of moving in. What'll happen when the BOYS first meet? How long will it take Takato to discover Guilmon? Can Veemon and Patamon REALLY stay hidden for the whole year? And what shakeup do we get on the girls' floor? Find out on the next Digimon: The College Years!

  


*****- See "Keeping Secrets"

  


Any comments? Then mail me at AmericanCaptor@hotmail.com and don't forget to review below!


	2. Meet The Neighbors

Last Week: We got to meet just some of the characters from the series. Through some strategic…begging, Veemon and Patamon will also get to live in the dorm along with their partners. Takato, Henry, and Terriermon all left for the university while leaving poor Guilmon behind. Renamon had an emotional parting of her own with Impmon, leaving him behind to go with Rika. But Guilmon wasn't left behind for long, because Jeri's planning to sneak him in herself. Meanwhile, the old Hypnos gang is getting ready to reunite to take on an unknown threat, but Yamaki hasn't said what. And Kari was moving her stuff in with some help from Yolei and had a less-than-pleasant meeting with Rika.

  


**Digimon: The College Years**

Episode 2- Meet The Neighbors

  


Sora Takenouchi looked around her new dorm room, which looked very clean…for the moment. She knew that things wouldn't stay this clean forever. Probably since there would be plenty of work to do here. It wasn't just schoolwork, but also there would be a lot of work to do if the fashion label would finally go national.

Of course, dorm life wouldn't be all work. For Sora, rooming with her best friend, Mimi Tachikawa, was the best thing she could have asked for. And having jobs as RA's was great. For one thing, it gave them free housing for the year. And the other thing was…they'd be right on Kari's floor. And Sora couldn't wait to see Kari's reaction.

Mimi took out a small dress. "Hmm…you know something, Sora? If we're taking STMT national, then we really should think about making a children's line. What do you think of this dress?"

Sora examined the small red dress. "It could use a little something more. Maybe we can add something to it. So who are our models?"

Mimi scratched the back of her head and giggled sheepishly. "We…don't HAVE models."

"Mimi! Then how are we supposed to know if the designs look any good? We need a guinea pig."

"But who do we know that's small enough to model these clothes?" Mimi asked curiously.

Sora and Mimi thought about that for a few minutes…and then a light bulb appeared over their heads. They grinned and looked straight at their PCs. They knew just who to call.

It was time to make a call to the Digital World.

* * *

Davis looked around the room. There were dozens of unopened boxes lying inside the dorm room, so the conditions didn't look quite livable yet. But Davis did like what he saw so far.

On one side of the room, there was a set of bunk beds where Davis and Ken would sleep. Right by the beds was the mini-fridge, where they would put any food…and lay the TV on top. On the opposite side of the beds was a small three-drawer dresser, where the three boys would keep their smaller articles of clothing. Davis shifted his gaze towards the windows where he saw the third bed, where TK would sleep.

Right by TK's bed, there was a small desk. It was a fine wooden desk where TK would be able to do all his work. On the other side of the room was the other desk where Davis or Ken could get their work done. And if worse came to worse, it would be a great place for Patamon or Wormmon to sit on and pretend to be stuffed animals in case anyone came in unexpectedly.

Veemon would have another hiding place and Davis was eyeing it on the other two corners. There was a large, tall clothing closet on each. Veemon would be able to sit under the clothes and hide himself easily. As soon as the boxes were all cleared, everything would be just perfect. And undoubtedly…Kari would love what they did with the place.

Ken interrupted Davis's daydreaming. "Uh…Davis? Did you remember to bring up the stereo?"

Davis slapped himself on the forehead. "I knew I forgot something. I'll go get it!"

Without waiting, Davis rushed out of the room and headed for the main door that led outside. Unfortunately, Davis wasn't even looking because as soon as he reached the door…he pushed it open and it ended up nailing some guy in the face.

"Hey!"

Davis didn't notice the guy drop all his boxes…and just kept running without looking back.

* * *

"Takato…are you ok?"

Takato tried to shake off the cobwebs. He looked around and saw that all the boxes he was carrying were now down on the ground. He was hit hard in the face by that door and now Takato was trying to gather himself and get to his feet.

"What was THAT?" Takato asked groggily.

"That guy sure came running out in a hurry," Henry answered. "Didn't even stop to apologize, either."

"Now THERE'S a jerk!" Terriermon added. "You'd think he could watch where he's going!"

"I'm sure he didn't mean anything, Terriermon," Henry sighed. "It was probably just an accident."

"But he's got a point," Takato pointed out. "You'd think he could have at least apologized."

"Let's give him that chance," Henry said. "Maybe we'll run into him again later."

"Let's just hope he doesn't run into Takato again," Terriermon joked.

"Ha…ha…ha," Takato muttered dryly. "I see you didn't forget your sense of humor back home. Henry, give me a hand with this stuff."

Takato bent down and started to pick everything up while Henry gave him a hand. Terriermon managed to somehow keep his balance on Henry's shoulder as the boy moved around.

Takato thought it would be best if he shrugged off the whole incident. Maybe it WAS just an accident.

* * *

Davis was starting to think it was better if he had Ken help him out, because with this big stereo he was carrying, he could barely see anything in front of his face. The weight of the stereo didn't help matters, either. Davis was very careful not to hit anything, but opening the door would now be a very difficult task.

Sensing the door was near, Davis reached over with his right hand while trying NOT to drop the stereo. Finally, he sensed the door's handle and THREW it open. What Davis didn't see was that the door collided with someone. He didn't even notice.

"Hey!"

Davis was instead 100% focused on NOT dropping the stereo, so he walked back into the building without looking back.

* * *

Takato groaned. "Not again!"

Henry, who was still trying to pick some of the stuff up, looked over at his fallen friend. "What happened?"

"It's that SAME idiot!" Terriermon answered. "He just threw the door open without even watching where he was going."

"Are you sure?" Henry asked calmly.

"Would I lie about this sort of thing?" Terriermon replied almost angrily. "That HAD to have been on purpose! No one is THAT dumb to ACCIDENTALLY knock someone over TWICE!"

"I've got to agree with Terriermon on this one," Takato said indignantly. "There can't be anyone THAT dumb!"

"But he doesn't even know you," Henry pointed out. "How could he knock you down on purpose?"

"Well…I guess you make a good point," Takato conceded. "But he'd better apologize next time I see him. Help me pick this stuff up, Henry."

Takato and Henry slowly picked up all the spilt boxes. While Henry did manage to calm Takato a little bit, the goggle boy still had some anger brewing inside of him. But what could possibly come of this. Henry knew Takato wasn't the kind of guy to go for revenge. KAZU AND KENTA might…but not Takato.

Still…this wasn't a very good way to meet the neighbors.

* * *

Riley knocked on the door and got no answer. It was a short two hour drive back to West Shinjuku and it didn't take her and Talley long to find the old apartment of their superior, Mitsuo Yamaki. Riley knocked again and once again didn't get an answer.

"You think he's here?" Talley asked.

"You know him as well as I do," Riley answered. "He's here. He's just keeping us waiting…or in suspense."

Riley knocked one more time and this time, the door slowly opened. And there stood Mitsuo Yamaki, not wearing his dark shades but still in dressed in a semi-formal blue shirt and slacks. He nodded and opened the door all the way, allowing Riley and Talley to come in. It felt like old times for Riley. They hadn't been together like this since the days of Hypnos five years ago.

"I'm glad you made it here so quickly," Yamaki said. "Of all the people I've worked with over my tenure, you two are the ones I trust the most. We always did make a good team."

"I'm not going to disagree with you," Riley smirked. "So why are we here? What's the situation?"

Yamaki remained silent as he headed over to his couch while fiddling with his lighter, something that had become a trademark behavior. He retrieved a brown manila folder. He walked over to his coffee table and dropped the folder there. It was a mission briefing.

"I haven't faced anything like this since the days of Hypnos," Yamaki began. "It's a threat I didn't think I'd have to deal with again. It's…Digimon."

Riley felt a chill go down her spine. The mere mention of Digital Monsters was enough to bring back awful memories of five years ago and the attacks of the Devas and the D-Reaper. And now Yamaki was telling them that the new threat had to do…with Digimon. If this was anything like the last threat of Digimon, then they would all have their hands full.

"There is a report that Evil Digimon are looking to infiltrate our world once again," Yamaki continued. "But there's much more to this than meets the eye. The reports indicate that there may already be a human on the inside working to get them in. There's a mole in there. It's unknown whether the mole is helping them willingly or if the mole is under the influence of one of those Evil Digimon. But either way, there's a mess brewing and it looks like it's up to us to clean it up."

Riley and Talley exchanged glances and looked back at Yamaki. "How?"

"It won't be easy, but it's up to us to find the mole and put a stop to him or her before Evil Digimon run rampant in this world again. We don't know who exactly the mole is, but we have narrowed down where the mole is. It's in Odaiba University."

"The mole's in a college institution?" Riley asked in surprise.

Yamaki nodded. "It could very well be anybody. It could be a student, a professor, or even the janitor. For all we know, it doesn't even have to be any of those people. It could just be someone close to them or the institution. All we know is, the mole is somehow tied to Odaiba University. If we don't do something soon, this mole could bring an Evil Digimon to this world."

"But what can we do?" Talley asked.

"I'm glad you asked," Yamaki grinned. "You'll know when you get there…Professor Ootori and Professor Onodera."

Riley's mouth was agape. "You MUST be joking."

"We're all going undercover as Odaiba University professors," Yamaki clarified. "We have a long mission ahead of us. And we will remain undercover for as long as it takes to flush out the mole."

Talley cleared her throat. "Uh…sir?"

"I'd prefer you address me as Professor Yamaki."

Riley shook her head. "Oh jeez…"

Talley cleared her throat again. "Uh…Professor Yamaki? Just when is this undercover mission starting?"

"We leave immediately," Yamaki answered. "We should make it to the university tonight."

Riley couldn't believe what she was hearing. It all sounded so insane. She couldn't believe that in a matter of moments, she went from being on vacation to going undercover.

She and Talley exchanged troubled glances. This could be a VERY long mission.

* * *

Kazu Shiota was in a deep state of thought. He looked around his room, once again observing his surroundings. But he wasn't paying attention to his best friend, Kenta Kitagawa. Nor was he paying to his partner Digimon, MarineAngemon, who was being his usual silent self. He wasn't paying attention to anything else…except his own partner Digimon.

Kazu couldn't take his eyes off Guardromon. For years, he managed to keep the champion-level android Digimon hidden. Even though he was pretty big, Kazu never had a problem hiding him. All he had to do was pass him off as a life-sized robot toy. But now there was a new obstacle for Kazu to face. He was going off to a new life at Odaiba University. He was packed and ready to go live his freshman year along with his best friend and roommate, Kenta. But he couldn't think of a single way to get Guardromon into his room.

Kenta shook his head. "Kazu, face it. There's no way we can take Guardromon with us."

Kazu remained persistent. "Hmm…no…I'll think of something."

"Can I fit in the trunk?" Guardromon offered.

"For the last time, NO!" Kenta groaned.

Kazu's head was starting to hurt at this point. One of the things he liked most about Guardromon was that he was both an irresistible force AND an immovable object on the battlefield. His firepower was almost unmatched by any champion-level Digimon. Of course, the big android's size was going to be a huge issue this time around.

"I can't believe we're going to have to make two trips," Kazu sighed.

"It's better than trying to squeeze him in with all our stuff," Kenta pointed out.

Kazu walked over and put his arm on Guardromon's shoulder. "Well, big guy, I guess you're going to have to stay here for right now. But I'll come back for you. Will you be ok?"

"You're going off by yourself, Kazu?" Guardromon asked.

"I'll be ok," Kazu said casually. "I'm a tough guy. But don't think I'm leaving you behind. Trust me. We'll come back for you in about a week. In the meantime, you guard my room against any intruders. Except my parents, of course."

"Will do. Good luck, Kazu."

Kazu sighed as he walked out of his room with his suitcase. Kenta, with MarineAngemon in his pocket, followed behind him. Kazu didn't want to leave his partner, but it was just impossible to bring him along now.

"Kazu, and how are we going to sneak him in next week?"

Kazu wasn't deterred. He still had a big grin on his face. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

* * *

Kari looked around her room. Boxes were scattered all over the place and it looked like it would be a tough task to empty them all out. Luckily, Yolei was here to help her out since this was likely to take a while. But admittedly, the room looked…pretty big.

"Yolei…do you notice something…weird?"

Yolei blinked. "What do you mean?"

Kari pointed into her room…and pointed out that there were THREE beds. And that made Kari feel a little wary.

"What…do you think THIS is about?" Kari asked.

"It's not what I think it is, is it?" Yolei replied.

Before they could ask anymore questions, Kari heard someone approaching. She turned around to see…that girl, Rika, coming up to her room. She looked over into Kari's room and shrugged. There still wasn't even a hint of a smile on her face as she reached for the key to her room. But when Rika turned her doorknob…the door was stuck.

"Hey! What gives with this thing?"

"What's the matter?" Yolei asked.

Rika grunted as she tried to push the door. "The door…won't…OPEN!"

"The door won't open because the room's being fixed," an unfamiliar voice said.

Kari, Yolei, and Rika looked over down the hall to see a middle-aged woman walking towards them. She had long red hair to go with a black blouse and long skirt. And she wore a pair of dark sunglasses, which she removed ever-so-slowly, revealing a pair of hazel eyes. She slowly looked around the hall.

"So this is it. I must say, it looks much nicer than I imagined." The woman turned to the three girls. "Allow me to introduce myself. I'm a new student here at Odaiba University, resuming my education in hopes of coming out of this year with my Master's degree. I wasn't expecting to get housing this year, but a friend of mine not only pulled some strings for me, but I'm also your new Resident Director. My name's Layla Mackenzie. And it's very nice to meet all of you."

Kari smiled back. "It's nice to meet you, too."

Rika still didn't smile. "Charmed. But what was that you were saying about my room?"

"I'm afraid we discovered a problem with the room and we're going to need to fix it. Repairs will go on at least until next semester."

Rika's eyes widened. "So what are you saying? I have no place to stay?!"

"It seemed that way at first," Ms. Mackenzie said calmly. "But luckily, we had a break." She walked up to Kari. "Are you Kari Kamiya?"

Kari nodded. "Uh huh. That's me."

"We're sorry to tell you that your roommate ending up transferring from the university at the last second. However, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise."

"Why is that?" Yolei asked.

"Because that gives us a chance to move the two girls in Room 205 to Room 206. Congratulations, Kari. You now have TWO roommates. And Rika over there is one of them."

Rika had a look of disbelief on her face. "You've GOT to be kidding! I'm staying with HER?"

"There's plenty of space in Kari's room and I'm sure that once you all get to know each other, you'll all get along just fine."

Rika turned and shot Kari a death glare. Kari only smiled sheepishly.

"I can feel I'm going to like it here," Ms. Mackenzie said happily. "But there are TWO more people you should meet."

"Who's that?" Kari asked curiously.

"Your floor's Resident Advisors. A senior and a junior. They should arrive very shortly."

As if on cue, everyone started hearing footsteps. Ms. Mackenzie looked back and saw the RA's making their arrival. And Kari gasped when she saw who they were. They were two familiar faces.

Sora Takenouchi and Mimi Tachikawa.

"These are your RA's, Sora and Mimi."

Sora and Mimi smiled and waved cheerfully…before winking at Kari. Kari's jaw just about dropped open. The last thing she expected to see was her two friends as RA's. No one ever clued her in about it or even hinted towards such a thing happening. Sora and Mimi must have kept this a secret for months.

But when she thought about everything, Kari smiled. This was actually the best thing that could have happened. Kari felt a little relieved to have some friends as RA's. Maybe she wouldn't feel so alone now.

"Now, we'll leave you girls alone to get better acquainted. Come along, RA's. It's time for a meeting."

Ms. Mackenzie walked off with Sora and Mimi both in tow. Kari smiled at the thought of being around some familiar friends. But when she turned her head to see the sour Rika, she was quickly brought back down to reality. Feeling some tension, Kari hoped to reliever it by trying to be friendly again.

Kari reached over for Rika's hand. "I can tell we're going to get along just fine, Rika. I hope we'll be close friends."

Somehow, though, Kari sensed this wasn't getting her anywhere, because Rika just pulled her hand away…and shot Kari another cold stare. If looks could kill…

"I'd better go get my things," she said bitterly. "And maybe I'll make a quick stop in the bathroom first. I'll be lucky if I don't retch."

Kari frowned as she saw Rika walking away. She sadly turned to her only friend present, Yolei. And much to Kari's dismay, Yolei didn't give her any kind of reassuring look.

"I get the feeling she doesn't like me," Kari finally said.

"What was your first clue?" Yolei muttered. She quickly backtracked when she saw Kari's frown grow. "I mean…I don't see why she wouldn't like you, Kari. You're totally one of a kind. You'll win her over eventually."

That relieved Kari somewhat. "Thanks, Yolei."

"But for right now, you'll have to do that without me. I have a club meeting to get to in a few minutes. I'll be sure to come back in a little bit, though."

"Ok, thanks Yolei!"

Now Yolei was on her way out and Kari felt was left by herself. At least she THOUGHT she was by herself.

"Kari?"

Kari gasped. She had completely forgotten about her OTHER friend. "Gatomon!"

Gatomon was hiding behind some of the boxes, trying to keep herself inconspicuous. And it was a good thing, too. Kari had forgotten about her companion and now it appeared that yet another complication had arisen.

"Should we clean this up?" Gatomon asked.

"I'LL clean this up!" Kari replied. "YOU have to hide! I've got enough problems with my new roommate. I don't need her finding out about you."

"Good point," Gatomon concurred. "I'd hate to give her any more reason to hate you."

Kari frowned again. "She doesn't hate me………………………………………does she?"

Gatomon stammered, trying to find something comforting to say. "Um…uh…er…of course not! Did I say 'hate'? I meant to say……um……uh…"

Kari's face fell. "She DOES hate me, doesn't she?"

"Now…it's too early to say that," Gatomon said comfortingly. "But I wouldn't rule it out. There are times in life when you meet someone who just…doesn't like you for no reason. Believe me, it's happened to me before."

That made Kari curious. "Really?"

Gatomon nodded. "Have a seat."

Kari and Gatomon both took a seat on Kari's new bed, which did feel pretty comfortable.

"Let me tell you a story, Kari," Gatomon explained. "I'll keep it short in case little Miss Sunshine comes back. Before I met Myotismon, I used to travel all over the Digital World looking for my partner. And along the way I met all kinds of different Digimon. Being all alone, I tried to be friendly to everyone. I wanted to make some new friends, since I really didn't have ANYBODY to fall back on. But…there was ONE Digimon who just didn't like me for whatever reason. And she made it known that I wasn't welcome around her territory or around her friends. To this day, I still don't know why she didn't like me, but it's like she just…hated me. So I know what you're going through."

"It's hard to imagine that, Gatomon," Kari said softly. "I'm sorry you went through that."

"Ah don't worry about it," Gatomon said casually. "I haven't seen her since then, so it's no big deal. As long as I don't ever have to hear the name **'Renamon'** again, I'll be just fine."

Kari smiled. She was always able to confide in Gatomon for anything. And much to her amazement…Gatomon was actually able to relate to Kari on this one. That made her feel better.

It was a good thing Gatomon kept her story short, because Kari started to hear footsteps again. Gatomon also heard the footsteps and decided to make herself scarce. The feline Digimon immediately ran into the closet.

Kari thought it would be Rika coming back. But to her surprise, it was a different girl. She had brown hair that just went down below her neck, with some of it arranged in a nice ponytail. She was wearing a green blouse and green skirt and was lugging around what looked like a large red lizard stuffed animal. And she stopped at Room 205. Just like Rika, she couldn't get the door open.

Kari walked up to the girl. "Um…the door's closed. They're fixing the room."

Kari realized that this must have been Rika's roommate. And frankly, she was expecting the worst, especially after having met Rika.

The girl turned around. "They're fixing the room? But…I was supposed to stay here."

"The Resident Director was just here," Kari clarified. "It looks like you and your roommate will be staying with me for the year. I'm your new roommate." She extended the hand of friendship. "My name's Kari."

Unlike Rika, this girl smiled back. And she shook Kari's hand cheerfully. "It's really nice to meet you! My name's Jeri!"

Kari's face brightened. "It's nice to meet you, too! Why don't you come see your new room?"

Kari moved some of the boxes out of the way to allow her new roomie to see the big room. The beds and the closets were neatly organized and there were two desks placed at each corner for each girl to study. Jeri liked what she was seeing.

"You think we can brighten this room up a little?" Jeri suggested.

"I think we could!" Kari said energetically.

"I have some blankets that could match those curtains."

"That's great! Just don't take that wall. I have a lot of pictures I'm planning to put up."

"This is gonna be so much fun!"

Kari giggled. "You sound like the happy type." She took a look outside. "What's that you have outside?"

Jeri looked out…and sweatdropped. "T-That? That's…a…stuffed animal!"

"Is it yours?" Kari asked.

Jeri shook her head nervously. "Actually…it isn't. I'm holding it for someone. A…friend of mine."

Kari blinked. "You sound awfully nervous about it."

"Oh…it's just that…well…I didn't think any other girls would have stuffed animals here."

It sounded like Jeri was very apprehensive about having that big red lizard stuffed animal here, so Kari tried to put her at ease. She walked over to her closet…and pulled out Gatomon, who immediately froze like a stuffed animal.

"This is a stuffed animal I've had for a while," Kari said comfortingly. "You don't have to be embarrassed."

Jeri smiled. "That's great to hear. I didn't mean to sound nervous. It's just that…well…that stuffed animal is a little different. Um…and b-b-by different…I mean…it's special. Sentimental value, you know."

"I know all about sentimental value," Kari nodded. "It's ok."

Jeri didn't look so nervous anymore. "That's nice to hear. You sound like a nice girl, Kari."

Kari smiled. "Thanks, Jeri. You sound nice, too." She looked around the room. "It WILL be fun here…won't it?"

Of course, as Kari said that…Rika came back with some of her boxes. As soon as she saw Kari and Jeri…she sweatdropped.

"Oh great. I'm gonna be rooming with a PAIR of golden girls."

"And it's nice to see you, too, Rika," Jeri said dryly. "Have you said hi to…?"

"We met!" Rika snapped as she furiously dropped a box on the floor.

Noticing Rika's less than jovial demeanor, Jeri suddenly looked like she had an idea. A smirk widened on her face and she dug into one of her boxes. She pulled something out and walked up to Rika…with a sock puppet on her hand.

"Come on, Rika. We're all gonna live together, why don't you just smile?"

A vein nearly popped out of Rika's forehead. "WHAT have I told you about that creepy sock puppet?! Get it away from me!"

Kari took a step back herself. She always thought of herself as an open-minded young lady. But as nice as Jeri appeared, even Kari had to admit that the sock puppet looked…a little on the creepy side.

Jeri turned to Kari and giggled as she held up her sock puppet. Kari could only return the smile, albeit an uneasy smile.

"Uh…nice sock…"

"Thanks."

Kari just nodded uneasily. This was going to be a VERY interesting year.

* * *

Davis, TK, and Ken all walked down the hall of the first floor after they had finished the grueling task of unpacking and organizing their room. With their room looking cleaner than it ever has (and with the Digimon all staying behind), the three boys decided to go meet their neighbors.

And that brought them down the hall, where they saw one of the doors was slightly ajar.

"You think anyone's in there?" TK asked.

"There's only one way to find out," Davis said impulsively.

"Uh…Davis…" Ken warned. "Shouldn't we KNOCK first?"

"Ken…that door's just begging for us to come right in. What could possibly happen?"

With that, Davis put a hand on the doorknob…

* * *

Henry was just finishing up cleaning his room while Takato walked to the plastic trash can with some of the trash they had gathered. It looked like Takato's anger was just starting to simmer down and that relieved Henry. He knew what happened earlier was just an accident. It was a good thing that Kazu and Kenta weren't around to stir the pot. The only possible instigator present was Terriermon, who was calmly sitting on Henry's new bed.

****THUD****

"OW!"

Henry turned around at the sound of that hard collision while Terriermon immediately went into stuffed animal mode. Henry turned to see…that SAME GUY who knocked Takato over earlier.

"Hey neighbors!" the guy said cheerfully…and ignorantly. "Uh…and by neighbors…shouldn't there be more than one of you?"

Henry sweatdropped. "Um…maybe you should look behind the door."

The guy blinked and looked over behind the door…and saw Takato lying on the ground, holding his nose. Takato got up on his own and shot the guy a cold stare. Meanwhile, another two guys walked through the door and stood next to the clumsy guy who clobbered Takato with the door.

"Hi!" the guy in the white hat greeted. "You guys just get here?"

"We've been here for about an hour," Henry answered. "Are you our neighbors?"

The guy in the hat nodded. "We live in the triple down the hall. My name's TK. This is Ken. And…that's Davis."

Takato rubbed his nose painfully. "Davis, huh?"

Henry could sense Takato's anger rising, so he quickly cut in. "Uh…nice to meet you guys! I'm Henry and this is Takato."

Davis held out the hand of friendship. "Nice meeting you, Takato. I don't know why, but I feel like I've seen you somewhere before. Um…is there something wrong with your nose?"

"You HIT me with the door!" Takato snapped as he continued rubbing his nose.

Davis sweatdropped. "Oh…sorry about that."

"You'll have to forgive him," TK added. "Davis can be pretty clumsy sometimes."

Davis nodded…then stopped when he thought of what TK said. Meanwhile, Takato obviously a little more than irritated. Henry shot Takato a glance to try and calm him down. It looked to be working, but a part of that had to be because of Takato's inherent good nature.

The Ken guy walked over towards a familiar box. "Hey…what's this?"

"That's the Digimon Card Game," Henry answered proudly. "Takato and I have played since we were kids."

TK blinked…and looked like he was in shock. "Card…game?"

"There's a CARD GAME?" Davis added.

Takato tilted his head. "You've…never heard of it?"

Henry was also amazed by this. "You've really never heard of Digimon?"

Davis was about to say something before Ken covered his mouth. TK stepped forward and started pushing the two guys out.

"Digimon?" TK repeated. "We've…never heard of it."

Takato shook his head. "That's hard to believe. It's been really popular around where we're from. We've GOT to teach you guys!"

"Just don't teach them how to beat US, Takato," Henry grinned.

Davis looked like he really wanted to say something, but Ken kept covering his mouth. And TK kept pushing them out.

"Well…it was really nice meeting you guys," TK stammered. "We'll be sure to come back. And feel free to visit us anytime. See you guys later!"

The three boys rushed out and shut the door. Henry and Takato both sweatdropped. Takato was about to say something as he went back to unpacking, but then the door flew open again…

"OW!!"

…and nailed Takato in the nose again. Once again, it was Davis, and he had Henry's cards.

"We forgot to give these back to you. See ya."

Davis closed the door and Takato just rubbed his nose painfully. Henry made sure no one else was coming back in and once the coast was clear, Terriermon leaped off the bed and onto his feet.

"What a klutz!" Terriermon growled. "Oh well…at least it isn't ME getting my nose smashed in."

Henry shook his head…and wondered why those three boys were so quick to leave. It couldn't be because…they weren't FANS, were they? Henry had never met anyone who didn't get into the card game right away. Even Jeri got into it when she first played. It just wasn't possible. It was sure weird.

For Takato, however, this whole day was just getting painful. It didn't look like he would be very willing to get along with this clumsy Davis guy.

"This is gonna be a LONG year…"

  


Next Week: How will the girls get along? How do Davis, TK, Ken, and their Digimon react to finding out that Digimon is a CARD GAME? What happens when Kazu and Kenta arrive? What happens as soon as the girls leave their room? What happens when Takato discovers Guilmon? And who are the boys' RA's? (I think you ALL know the answer to that) Oh, and one more thing. Who's this mole that Yamaki is referring to? The answer won't come quick (this IS a season, after all), so I hope that storyline will keep you curious.

  


Any comments? Then mail me at AmericanCaptor@hotmail.com and don't forget to review below!


	3. Old Acquaintances

Last Time: Kari was still thinking about who her roommate would be, but that's when she met the Resident Director, Ms. Layla Mackenzie, who revealed that Kari, Rika, and Jeri would all be rooming together. While Kari and Jeri hit it off right away, Rika wasn't exactly thrilled with these developments. So what else can go Kari's way? How about her friends, Sora and Mimi, being Resident Advisors? That sounds pretty good. Yamaki, in the meantime, has called his old friends and tells them to prepare for a year-long undercover mission at Odaiba University. As for the guys…Davis isn't endearing himself to Takato by continuing to accidentally knock him over. And the DigiDestined guys are overtaken with shock…at the revelation of a Digimon Card Game.

  


**Digimon: The College Years**

Episode 3- Old Acquaintances

  


Once the guys were all back in their room, Davis tried to piece it all together in his head again. None of the three guys could piece it all together and even the Digimon, themselves, were having trouble believing it. Veemon, Patamon, and Wormmon were all huddled up and trying to piece together what their human partners told them.

Veemon turned to the guys. "So……you're saying……there's a Digimon Card Game out there?"

Ken nodded. "Those were definitely cards with Digimon on them. It's all true."

"But how can that happen?" Davis asked. "And more importantly………shouldn't we be getting a cut of the profits?"

"You're thinking about PROFITS?" TK asked in amazement.

"Hey…if one of those cards has Veemon's face on it, don't you think I should get something for it?" Davis pointed out.

"Um…if it's got MY face on it, shouldn't it be ME getting a cut?" Veemon corrected dryly.

"You know, maybe it's just a regional thing," Ken thought. "Maybe the card game only exists in the city where they come from. That might explain why we've never heard of it. For all we know, someone might have witnessed the Highton View Terrace incident and decided to go back to wherever they came from and make a card game out of Digimon."

"You know, I just thought of something," TK said…before smirking. "Those two guys are wrapped up in a Digimon Card Game…and they probably have no idea that Digimon really do exist. It's kinda funny."

"Not that they'll ever find out," Ken added. "I think that even after all these years, people aren't ready for Digimon." Then he thought of something else. "Hey! That means it'll be even EASIER to pass off the Digimon as stuffed animals! If they ask, I'll just tell them this is a stuffed Wormmon I got for my birthday."

"I think I make a good stuffed animal," Wormmon smiled. "And so does Patamon. I'm not sure about Veemon."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Veemon asked indignantly. "I can be stuffed if I wanted to!"

Impeccably, someone started to knock on their door. Wormmon crawled onto Ken's bed and went into his stuffed animal act while Patamon flew onto TK's bed and did the same. Veemon walked over to the closet and sat down to do HIS stuffed animal impression. Once the Digimon were cleared and ready for hiding, TK opened the door.

Standing there was a middle-aged woman with a black blouse and long skirt. She had long, flowing red hair and a pair of sunglasses, which she removed slowly to reveal a pair of hazel eyes. She took a step in to look around the room.

"I like what you three have done with your room so far," she said. "I must say, it's VERY tidy. Allow me to introduce myself. I'm the hall's Resident Director, Ms. Layla Mackenzie."

"Oh…my name's TK. This is Ken. And that's Davis."

Ms. Mackenzie walked over towards Veemon and bent down to stare him in the eye. "This is a very nice stuffed animal you have here. Blue and white with a little horn on the nose. It certainly looks very real."

"Um…w-we get that a lot," Davis stuttered.

After giving Veemon a staredown, in which the little blue Digimon didn't even flinch, Ms. Mackenzie got to her feet and headed towards the door.

"I just wanted to come by and introduce myself…and introduce you to your Resident Advisors, both of whom are seniors. RA's?"

Ms. Mackenzie cued the RA's…and the guys got a surprise when they saw…Tai Kamiya and Matt Ishida. The guys were taken aback by this unexpected surprise. And Tai and Matt responded with no words. They jut gave a simple wave…and a wry grin.

"I trust you won't have a problem getting along?" Ms. Mackenzie smiled.

"Not at all," TK agreed.

Ms. Mackenzie nodded. "That's good to hear. Come along, RA's. It's time to meet the rest of the boys."

Ms. Mackenzie walked off with Tai and Matt in tow and once they were gone, TK shut the door again. The Digimon were able to cease their act and go back to moving freely. Veemon shut his eyes and shook his head.

"She's weird," Veemon said. "She just got into a staring contest with me."

"At least you didn't blink," Davis pointed out. "Hey, Ken! What time is it?"

"It's…almost seven o'clock."

"I think I know what you're about to say," TK cut in. "And I agree…I'm hungry, too." He reached over for the phone, which was placed on the wall. "Should we call a few friends?"

Davis nodded. He knew TK was about to call Yolei and Kari, so he was all for it. So he took a seat right next to Veemon while TK grabbed the phone and dialed that number.

* * *

Yolei Inoue walked into her room, located in another part of Odaiba University. It was the sophomore's dorm building and after helping Kari move in, Yolei realized she had her own issues. There were quite a few boxes scattered around that still needed to be unpacked. But one thing she noticed was…not all of them were hers.

She walked over to one of the closets and saw a young, blond-haired girl, standing on the tips of her toes, hanging up her wardrobe. She was wearing a very lady-like red dress with a pair of dark pantyhose, which was quite the contrast from the casualness of what Yolei was wearing. Yolei tapped her on her shoulder and the girl jumped, obviously startled.

"You scared me!" the girl exclaimed in a French accent. "You just came up so quietly."

Yolei couldn't help but notice the girl and her elegance. The dress, the hairband, the earrings, the long blond hair, and the seemingly flawless face. It was different from what Yolei was used to seeing.

"You…live here?" Yolei asked.

The girl nodded. "Yes I do. Are you my roommate?"

Yolei extended the hand of friendship. "Yeah, I'm your new roomie. My name's Yolei."

The girl returned the handshake. "My name's Catherine. I'm…new here. I transferred from France."

"Oh…so YOU'RE the French girl I'm rooming with. Well, it's really nice to meet you. And let me be the first to tell you that you'll really like it here. I know it must be hard to live in another country. Have you ever been in Japan before?"

Catherine walked over to her bed and took a seat. "To be honest, I haven't."

"You'll like it here. And you'll certainly like the Japanese boys that are living here."

"Oh…well…I've met my share of Japanese boys before. I actually met two of them about seven years ago."

"And they're really nice, aren't they?" Yolei grinned. "Cute, too...right?"

Catherine nodded. "VERY nice and VERY cute. I wish I could see them again. I wonder if they live in this part of Japan?"

Before Yolei could get to know her new roommate better, she heard the phone ring. She didn't recall giving anyone the number…except her friends. So that meant it was probably Kari. Yolei walked over to answer the phone.

"Hello?"

_"Yolei? It's TK."_

"Oh, hi! How's everything on the guys' floor going so far?"

_"Oh…um…well…Davis hasn't burned any bridges…yet. He came close when he kept bumping into some guy and smashing a door in his nose. It's a good thing that guy hasn't snapped...yet."_

"Well, that's Davis. I just hope he doesn't get you or Ken into any trouble…for his sake, because if that klutz gets my Ken into any trouble, I'll…"

_"We'll be ok, Yolei. So what are you doing right now?"_

"Just trying to unpack and get to know my new roommate a little better."

_"We were wondering if you wanted to get something to eat with us right now. What do you say?"_

"I haven't had a bite to eat all day. I'm there!"

_"Ok…then we'll meet you at The Den. You can tell us what's safe to eat. Bye Yolei!"_

Yolei hung up and was about to get her purse to leave…when she thought of another idea. She looked over at Catherine who had gone back to hanging up her clothes.

"Hey Catherine…would you like to meet some of my friends?"

Catherine beamed. "I'd love to! But…I can't quite make it just yet. I'll tell you what, though. I'll meet you in the cafeteria in about a half an hour, ok?"

Yolei started heading out the door. "Ok, Catherine. This will give us all time to get together. Good luck doing…whatever it is you have to do and I'll go ahead and see you in a little bit."

Yolei walked the door and started heading to the cafeteria. After the way this day has gone, she could use a meal.

* * *

Kari was really starting to like the way things were going right now. She had spent the last hour getting know her new roommate and friend, Jeri, and finding out what makes this girl tick. Likewise, Kari was telling Jeri everything about herself…ALMOST everything.

"So what DO you take pictures of, Kari?" Jeri asked.

Kari looked around the room with her digital camera. "Whatever I can find. Smile, Rika!"

Rika was sitting on her bed, shifting through some excess papers and letters when she turned and sweatdropped upon seeing Kari's camera focused on her. Needless to say, Rika wasn't amused.

"DON'T point that thing at me!" she snapped.

"Camera shy?" Kari grinned.

"You better believe it!" Rika growled. "Seeing camera flashes remind me of my mother…and what she WANTED me to be."

Kari blinked. "What'd she…"

"I DON'T want to talk about it!" Rika scowled.

Kari shrugged and pointed the camera away. She continued to get a totally negative vibe from Rika and every one of her attempts to be friendly seemed to only make relations worse. It was as if Rika just…hated her. But Kari quickly found a new target for her camera. She pointed it at Jeri's big red lizard stuffed animal.

"Say cheese!" Kari grinned.

"NOOOOOO!!"

Jeri quickly leaped off her bed towards her stuffed animal, like a Secret Service agent leaping to take a gunshot for the American President.

Kari snapped the picture with the bright flash. When the flash cleared, Kari only saw Jeri scrambling to turn the stuffed animal around. What's funny was…Kari could have sworn she heard a dizzy moan come from the stuffed animal.

"What was that?" Kari asked curiously.

Jeri searched for an answer and held up her sock puppet. "It was him. He doesn't like getting his picture taken. See?" The puppet then made like it was groaning.

Kari blinked again. "I…see…"

Jeri spoke with her puppet again. "That stuffed animal doesn't like getting his picture taken. He's very shy…"

Before Jeri could stumble any further, Kari heard the phone ring. She quickly walked over and picked it up.

"Hello?"

_"Hi Kari!"_

Kari giggled. "Well hello to you too, Davis. Did you guys have any problems moving in?"

_"No problems moving in…except for you-know-who wanting to sneak in with us."_

"I told you there's nothing wrong with taking…you-know-who with you. Just…make sure no one sees him and you'll all be fine."

_"He's done a pretty good job so far. But hiding our Digimon made us all hungry, so we were wondering if you wanted to get something to eat."_

"I'd love to!"

_"Great! We'll meet you at The Den! I'll see you there, Kari!"_

"Bye Davis!"

_"Blow me a kiss?"_

Kari sweatdropped. "Later."

Kari hung up and sighed. Davis was really on top of the world since Kari agreed to go out on a date with him. But maybe he was making too much of this. After all…she wasn't his girlfriend…yet.

"Who was that, Kari?" Jeri asked.

"A few of my old friends," Kari answered cheerfully. "We're all having dinner together. I'll be back a little later."

Rika got to her feet and started heading out. "I guess I'd better take a walk. Frankly, I could use the fresh air right about now."

Kari politely stepped aside, leaving room for Rika to walk out. As Rika walked past Kari, she made sure to give her one more cold stare. Kari sweatdropped again. The relationship developing between the two girls was very uneasy. VERY unlike the friendship that seemed to be blooming between Kari and Jeri.

"Maybe I should step out, too," Jeri thought. She reached over for her big red lizard stuffed animal and started lugging it around. "I…really SHOULD deliver this…to my friend. I'll be back in a little bit." It was obvious she was struggling with the weight…which Kari found odd, considering it was only a STUFFED ANIMAL.

"Um…do you need any help with that?" Kari offered.

"No…it's ok," Jeri smiled. "I can do it. Now go on, I wouldn't want you to be late."

Kari wasn't positive whether she should leave or not, but Jeri was practically shooing her away. So Kari just grabbed her purse and walked out. The dorm room would be empty now and maybe that was a good thing.

Maybe it would give Gatomon a chance to breathe.

* * *

Gatomon took a peek outside the closet to make sure the coast was clear. With everybody gone, the champion-level feline was able to step out and walk over towards Kari's bed. She really did like what the girls did with the place and Gatomon knew she would be very comfortable living there.

But before Gatomon could even drift off into daydreaming, she saw something materialize out of thin air right by the window. It was a tall yellow fox, standing on her hind legs. And for Gatomon…this fox looked VERY familiar.

"I guess I'm by myself now," the fox said to herself.

But before anymore words could be said, Gatomon and the fox turned their heads to find each other. They both gasped and took a step back. But their expressions of shock soon turned to expressions of contempt.

"YOU!!" they both shouted.

Gatomon jumped off the bed and faced off with this old antagonist of hers. Both of them slowly stepped in circles, neither one taking their eyes off the other.

"So…we meet again, you little furball," the fox sneered.

"I didn't think I'd EVER have to see YOU again, Renamon," Gatomon scowled. "Why are you here?"

"I don't have to answer to YOU!" Renamon spat. Then she raised an eyebrow. "Hey, wait a minute! What are YOU doing here anyway?! You don't belong here! The last time I saw you, you were out prancing around the Digital World trying to make 'friends'."

"For your information, I DO have friends!" Gatomon replied angrily. "Unlike you! The only thing you ever cared about was fighting and getting stronger! You don't know the meaning of the word 'friendship', Foxy!"

A vein nearly popped out of Renamon's head. "You…you…I told you…**NEVER, EVER** call me **FOXY**! And YOU didn't answer my question, kitty! What are you doing here?!"

"I don't have to tell you ANYTHING!" Gatomon shouted. "But the only thing I WILL tell you is that YOU'RE not staying!"

"That's what you think!" Renamon shot back. "This room isn't big enough for the both of us, cat! So you're leaving!"

"Oh yeah?! We'll see about that!"

With those heated words exchanged, Gatomon dove straight for Renamon and tackled her. Both Digimon started rolling around, trying to claw and swipe at one another. But the only moves that landed were a couple of slaps. After some more rolling around, the two Digimon bumped into the wall, knocking down some of the girls' picture frames. Before they could break anything else, Gatomon pushed Renamon off. The fox Digimon rolled back and skillfully bounced onto her feet.

"I can't believe it," Renamon muttered. "A strong Digimon like me reduced to catfighting."

"What's wrong with catfighting?!" Gatomon demanded, obviously miffed at the pun.

"I don't know why I'm wasting my time playing games with you. I honestly shouldn't be surprised that you haven't gotten any stronger since the last time I saw you. You're still weak!"

That got Gatomon's dander up. "I'LL…SHOW…YOU!!"

Gatomon got a huge running start and she hit Renamon with a shoulder-first tackle. Unfortunately, Gatomon had too much forward momentum and couldn't put the brakes on and both Digimon headed right for the window. Unable to stop, both went falling out the second-floor window…and falling to the ground outside.

* * *

Takato felt satisfied with the job he and Henry had done cleaning their new room. It looked nice and tidy…for the moment. But considering this was a boys' dorm, it likely wouldn't last.

"Well…I'll enjoy the space…for however long it lasts," Terriermon joked.

Suddenly…from outside…

"AAAAAAAHHH…OOF!"

Takato blinked. "Did you guys hear that?"

"Hear what?" Henry asked.

"It sounded like someone was falling outside."

Terriermon pattered over to the window and opened up the curtain. "There's nothing out here."

"Um…Terriermon…is it really a good idea for you to be looking out the window like that?" Henry pointed out. "What if someone sees you?"

"Sheesh! Momentai, Henry!" Terriermon groaned. "You worry too much sometimes."

"Well…maybe he's got a point," Takato thought. "There could have been some guys out there trying to pull a prank on us. We wouldn't want them to see you, Terriermon."

Terriermon sweatdropped. "Some guys…coming to pull pranks on your window? You guys just got here! You've barely made any FRIENDS, much less enemies."

With that out of the way, Takato heard some knocking at the door. The goggle boy wandered over to answer the door…and saw emptiness. There was nobody there.

"Hmm…I could have sworn…"

"HELLO!"

"AAH!"

Takato fell back when Kazu Shiota and Kenta Kitagawa suddenly jumped onto the doorway in front of him. Takato fell on his backside and looked up to see his two friends with their hands full. Kazu was carrying both boxes of Digimon cards…and Kenta was carrying around MarineAngemon.

"Don't…scare me like that," Takato grumbled.

"Sorry 'bout that, Takato," Kazu grinned. "But we just wanted to make an entrance."

"So when did you two get here?" Henry asked.

"About 20 minutes ago," Kenta answered. "We unpacked our stuff before the RD introduced us to the RA's. Their names were…Tai and Matt…or something like that."

Takato walked up and observed MarineAngemon. "Well…I see you have MarineAngemon here. But Kazu…where's…you know...?"

Kazu just raised an eyebrow. "You think I can fit Guardromon into the car with all my luggage? You've got to be out of your mind. So I did the only thing I could do. I left him in my room for right now. We're going to wait a few days before we try and sneak him in. Now THAT should be a lot of fun."

"I wish Guilmon was that understanding," Takato sighed. "But he doesn't understand that he can't stay here with me. He was really sad to see me go."

"You didn't bring Guilmon?" Kazu asked in disbelief. "Come on, Takato. We KNOW Guardromon can't stay here because…well…we aren't ready for that yet! I have to wait and see how I'm going to get him in here. But Guilmon? He is NOT that big. And I think he can blend in."

"He can blend in about as easily as Terriermon or MarineAngemon," Kenta added.

"Ok, let's analyze what you just said," Terriermon cut in. "First of all, I've been doing the whole stuffed animal routine since the day I met Henry. So I'm a little used to it by now. And MarineAngemon…well…it's easy for him to not get noticed since he DOESN'T TALK!"

MarineAngemon raised an eyebrow and just turned his head from Terriermon in the universal 'humph' motion.

"Look, don't get me wrong," Terriermon continued. He started wandering towards the window. "I like Guilmon and I'll miss the big lug. But I don't think he can pull off the whole stuffed animal charade as easily as I can. And where's he gonna hide, anyway? He's a big red lizard! The only chance he HAS is the stuffed animal act. I mean…how do you NOT notice him? Not only is he big, but he's got the kind of face that just…leaps out at you."

"HELLO!"

"AAH!"

When Terriermon got to the window, a surprise leaped up out of nowhere, sending the long-eared Digimon rolling off the bed. Takato gasped when he saw…

"Guilmon?!"

Terriermon shook off the cobwebs and jumped back on the bed, running towards the window. "You big red goofball! Don't EVER scare me like that again!"

"Sorry, Terriermon."

Takato ran towards the window. "Guilmon! Get in here before someone sees you!"

Takato grabbed Guilmon's hands and tried to pull him in. Unfortunately, Guilmon was pretty heavy, so it was definitely easier said than done. Takato struggled to pull him in while Guilmon struggled to climb into the window. Takato finally decided to give one hard tug. And when he did, Guilmon went flying in…and winded up colliding with Kazu, squashing him against the wall.

Guilmon calmly got to his feet. "Hi Kazu!"

"Hey…Guilmon…" Kazu said groggily.

Guilmon looked around the room. "Ooh…so this is college. It's just like I heard…"

Guilmon's thoughts were interrupted when he saw an infuriated Takato walking up to him. Guilmon flinched sheepishly.

"I thought I told you to stay home!" Takato said angrily. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to live with you, Takato," Guilmon answered calmly.

"But I told you!" Takato shot back. "You can't stay here! Someone will see you!"

"Jeri said that if you had a problem, to tell HER about it."

Takato's eyes widened. "JERI brought you here?! This was JERI'S idea?!"

"Did somebody call me?" a feminine voice called out from the window. It was Jeri.

Takato had a huge crush on Jeri for the longest time. They had become even closer friends over the last year once she moved back to West Shinjuku. But right now, Takato wasn't looking at Jeri amorously. Right now, he was ticked off.

"Jeri! You brought Guilmon here?!" Takato demanded.

Henry suddenly saw where this was going and picked up Terriermon. "Well…I'm sure you two have a lot to talk about. Kazu, Kenta, why don't you go ahead and show me your room? Show me what you did with the place?"

"Um…sure…" Kazu said slowly.

"Might as well…" Kenta added.

Henry practically pushed Kazu and Kenta out the door and shut the door, leaving Takato alone with Guilmon and Jeri.

"What's the idea, Jeri?" Takato asked angrily. "I…"

"I ought to be asking YOU that same question, Takato Matsuki!" Jeri interrupted. "How could you even THINK about leaving poor Guilmon behind? He loves you, Takato! And you can't just leave him home just because you think he's excess baggage! How insensitive can you be?! What's the matter with you?!"

"But…"

"You aren't even giving Guilmon a fair chance!" Jeri continued. "You're just assuming he'll be caught! You're not giving him ANY credit at all! Have you even bothered to FIND OUT if he can act like a stuffed animal?!"

"Well…"

"You HAVEN'T, have you?! Well, let me tell you something, Takato! *I* gave him a chance, and *I* think he's ready to go! Guilmon, show Takato you can be a stuffed animal."

Guilmon sat down and froze with a dopey smile on his face. Jeri waved a hand in front of his face and didn't get a reaction. Then she tried making faces, still not getting anything out of Guilmon. Then she pulled out her sock puppet and tried to bite Guilmon's nose with it. To Guilmon's credit, he didn't even flinch.

Jeri giggled. "Ok, Guilmon. We made our point."

Guilmon unfroze and rubbed his nose. "OW…your puppet bites hard, Jeri."

Jeri walked over and got in Takato's face. "You see?! Guilmon deserves a chance to live here, Takato! And he doesn't deserve to be left home! He loves you! And you love him, too! So what's the problem?!"

Takato thought long and hard about that one. "Well……you know…now that I think about it…I guess there really ISN'T a problem."

Jeri smiled. "That's great to hear!"

Guilmon threw his hands up. "YAY!!"

"BUT…" Takato continued. "You have to be careful, Guilmon! Whenever ANYONE comes in here, you have to keep up your stuffed animal act. And most importantly, you CAN'T leave the room!"

"I won't go anywhere, Takato," Guilmon nodded. "So does this mean I can stay?"

Takato sighed. "Sure thing, boy. I couldn't take being away from you for so long anyway. …HEY!"

Guilmon dove onto Takato, knocking him over. "YAY!!"

Jeri, with a new sense of satisfaction, headed for the door. "I see my work is done. I'll just be leaving now. Bye Takato!"

Something suddenly hit Takato like a ton of bricks. "Hey Jeri?"

Jeri stopped as she reached the door. "Yes, Takato?"

"Um…you wanna go get something to eat?"

Jeri blinked. "Alone? Without Henry, Kazu, Kenta, or Rika?"

"Well…Henry's probably busy looking at Kazu and Kenta's room…and I don't know WHERE Rika is…so…yeah…just the two of us, you know?"

"Well…ok…but don't you mistake this for a date, Takato."

Takato sweatdropped. "Oh no…of course not." He looked back at Guilmon, who went into his stuffed animal act. "Good boy. Now don't go anywhere."

Jeri suddenly realized something. "You know something, Takato? I just forgot there's something I needed to do. It won't take me too long, but I'll meet you in the cafeteria in about a half an hour, ok?"

"Uh…sure, Jeri."

Jeri gave Takato a quick hug and ran off, leaving Takato alone to get ready for dinner. He grabbed a coat and headed for the door, but made sure to look over at Guilmon.

"Stay!"

Guilmon remained frozen in the stuffed animal position while Takato smiled and nodded, knowing it was safe to leave him behind.. Seeing that everything would be just fine, Takato opened the door and walked out, ready to go out for dinner…at the university's cafeteria.

* * *

While night was starting to fall in the real world, she was now in the Digital World. The time was coming for an invasion and she had to be ready for it. Although there were plenty of nasty Digimon willing to offer their services for an invasion of the real world, that didn't mean she didn't still have a job to do.

At her disposal were several Black Gears. They were the very same Black Gears that were once used by Devimon and thanks to one of her partners in crime, the Black Gear technology had been restored. And now they would use it to their advantage.

She looked down at the ground just below the cliff to see a Tortomon walking peacefully. He would prove to be a suitable servant. So she grabbed a Black Gear and tossed it down. The Black Gear attached itself to the Tortomon's back and began to take effect immediately. The Tortomon groaned and then its eyes glowed red. The big Digimon was under the Black Gear's influence. A grin widened on her face. Her partners would be pleased. She sure was.

The Tortomon woke up and looked up to see her standing at the cliff's edge. It awaited orders, for the Black Gear now had it rendered under her control. She pointed out towards the distance, where the Tortomon would wander until it was given further instructions.

In a short amount of time, her night's work was finished. Of course, the total work of The Digimon Empress was far from done. But for right now, it was time to return to the real world.

After all…it was a school night.

  


Next Week: We go to The Den, Odaiba University's cafeteria, where everyone goes to eat. Do old memories arise when Yolei introduces her friends to Catherine? And do Davis and Takato have another little run-in? What happens when Kazu and Kenta hear about the run-ins Takato's had with Davis? Where did Renamon and Gatomon end up? Whatever DID happen to Impmon back in West Shinjuku? And will we find out more about this villainy that's roaming the Digital World? Find out on the next Digimon: The College Years!

  


Any comments? Then mail me at AmericanCaptor@hotmail.com and don't forget to review below!


	4. Dinner Time!

Last Week: While Davis, TK, and Ken contemplated the existence of a Digimon Card Game, they were paid a visit by Resident Director Layla Mackenzie, who introduced the floor's RA's…Tai and Matt. After those intros, the guys decided to make a call to Kari and Yolei for dinner. Before Yolei went to dinner, she got to meet her new roommate, Catherine from France, and invited her along. Kari left to dinner also while Jeri took Guilmon out and Rika took a walk. With the girls' room empty, Gatomon and Renamon had a tense reunion…that resulted in a catfight…and both Digimon falling out the window. Kazu and Kenta arrived, but Henry quickly walked them out when Jeri and Guilmon showed up in Takato's room unexpectedly. Once Jeri convinced Takato to let Guilmon stay, Takato took Jeri out to dinner at the university's cafeteria. And then we met one of our story's villains: The Digimon Empress.

  


**Digimon: The College Years**

Episode 4- Dinner Time!

  


Davis looked over his shoulder to see that TK and Ken were sitting at a pretty big table that was enough to seat everyone who was about to show up, with room to spare. Davis, of course, had yet to get his dinner. And he had plenty to choose from in this cafeteria known as The Den. But experience was setting in at this point. Davis would never forget the cafeterias he had encountered in his lifetime and the food tasted HORRENDOUS. So Davis was sure to be careful. He wanted to eat dinner…not lose his lunch. Before Davis could make his choice, however, a pair of hands covered his eyes.

"Guess who?"

Davis thought about that. "Um…Ken? Your voice has changed."

Davis turned around and saw Kari holding a tray of food. And she didn't look amused.

"Very funny, Davis," she said dryly. "Are you ready to eat?"

Davis poured himself a bowl of soup to go with his salad. "Oh yeah! We're sitting over here. Let's go."

Davis escorted Kari towards the table, which was located by the door. He had to admit, whatever scent Kari was wearing was driving him wild. He wanted to reach over and give her a quick peck on the cheek. But Davis mistimed his steps and ended up clumsily tripping over a spilled meatball.

The tray flew forward, as did the salad and soup that was on top of it. And unfortunately, The Den's door just happened to open at that moment. And the salad and soup ended up falling on top of some poor hapless soul's head. And that hapless soul just happened to be…

"HEY!"

…Takato.

Davis timidly inched towards Takato and pulled a lettuce leaf out from over his forehead. "Um…hey Takato! S-Sorry about this." He grinned sheepishly. "But…look at it this way. This makes a good appetizer at least."

Takato audibly snarled as he cleared some salad from atop his head. He looked like he was ready to explode, but the girl that was with him was desperately trying to calm him down.

"Takato…it was an accident. He didn't mean anything."

Kari walked up to Davis's side. "Hi Jeri!"

The girl turned around and smiled. "Oh, hi Kari!"

Kari made the introduction. "Davis, I want you to meet my roommate, Jeri."

Jeri made her own introduction. "Takato, I want you to meet my roommate, Kari."

Then both girls wanted to introduce their guys. "And we want you to meet…"

"We met!" Takato cut them off sharply.

"C-Chill out, dude!" Davis stammered. "It was an accident."

"You seem to have a lot of those, don't you?" Takato growled.

Silence.

Jeri sweatdropped and started to lead Takato away. "Uh…come on, Takato. Let's go eat. I'll see you later, Kari. Nice meeting you, Davis."

Davis waved dimwittedly. "Nice meeting you, Jeri."

Davis was ready to go sit at the table now. But he froze when he saw Takato shooting him one more cold glare. Davis stood still until Kari started leading him towards the table.

"I see you two haven't quite gotten off on the right foot," Kari noted.

"That'd be an understatement," Davis said grimly. "But Takato just hasn't seen the most charming side of me yet."

Kari sweatdropped. "I shudder to think what would happen if he truly saw the most charming side of you. Look…maybe it isn't so bad. I mean…it can't be any worse than how I've had it with my other roommate."

Davis blinked. "Other roommate? I thought you only had one."

"It's a long story," Kari sighed. "I'll tell you just as soon as we sit down."

Kari led Davis over to the table and sat down with their friends. Yolei hadn't arrived just yet and TK and Ken looked concerned. Obviously, they saw what went down.

"Davis…don't tell me that was Takato," Ken groaned.

"Ok, I won't tell you."

TK shook his head. "I don't think you're endearing yourself to him."

That got Kari's curiosity up. "Just how many times HAVE you bumped into him?"

Davis hesitated. "Um…………hey Ken, is that a meatball?"

TK shook his head again. "I hope getting along has been easier for you, Kari."

Kari also hesitated. "Oh…yeah…you know me. It's impossible to hate me. Heh…heh…"

"Has anyone seen Yolei?" Ken asked.

That was enough to change the subject and get everyone looking around the cafeteria for Yolei, who had yet to show up. But it didn't take long.

"Hi guys!" Yolei said cheerfully. She came and was about to sit next to Ken, but stayed on her feet.

"What's wrong?" Ken asked curiously.

Yolei waved over to someone. "Come on! Don't be shy!"

Davis turned his head to see a very attractive young girl with blond locks and a red dress. If he wasn't so smitten with Kari, then he would have been tempted. But no one was more taken by her appearance then TK.

Yolei smiled. "Guys, I want you to meet my roommate…"

"Catherine?" TK finished.

Yolei blinked. "How…did you know that?"

Catherine gasped. "TK? Is that you?"

TK nodded. "I can't believe it! What are you doing here?"

"I'm an exchange student! I'm coming here for the year!"

"Really? That's great! Wow! You really grew up!"

"So did you!"

"Time out!" Kari said almost impatiently. "Does someone want to fill the rest of us in as to what's going on?"

TK smiled. "Ok, Kari. But you might want to take a seat. This might take a while…"

* * *

Impmon never felt so alone. He still had the baseball in his hands and he bounced it along the sewer pipe. He didn't think he'd miss everyone so much, but not having Renamon or the humans around left Impmon feeling…rather lonely.

He still couldn't believe that Renamon didn't tell him everyone was leaving until the very last second. He thought they were his friends. Of course, after everything he had done in his past, Impmon couldn't blame any of them for running out on him. He didn't deserve to have friends like them.

Impmon tossed the ball off the pipe, but on the way back, the ball flew over his shoulder. He went over to retrieve it, but when he found it, it was in the hands of a friend.

"Hi! Wanna play?"

It was little Calumon. The baseball was almost the size of his head. Of course, the smile on his face was pretty big along with his ears. Calumon loved coming around to play. What surprised Impmon was that he thought the little childlike Digimon had left with Rika or Jeri.

"I ain't in the mood," Impmon said casually. He sat down and put his head in his hands. "I'm pretty down in the dumps right now."

Calumon bounced over and sat next to Impmon. "What's the matter?"

Impmon decided to get a question out of the way. "Did Renamon or Terriermon or any of those guys tell you they were going away?"

Calumon's smile faded and his ears shrunk. "Uh huh. I said I was gonna miss them. Are they already gone?"

"Yeah, probably. Renamon didn't tell me until a little while ago."

Calumon's face fell. "What are we gonna do without them?"

Impmon didn't know how to answer that. But then a thought hit him. He decided to shrug off his self-pity and do something about this. He got to his feet and, for the first time in years, started walking out of the sewer pipe. Calumon quickly caught up to him.

"Where are you going, Impmon?" Calumon asked curiously.

"Going for a trip," Impmon answered. "You coming?"

Calumon's face lit up. "You mean it? I can really come with you?"

"Just don't get too cute on me," Impmon said. "But yeah, let's get out of this dump. Never liked it here anyway."

"But where are we going?"

Impmon grinned mischievously. "To a new life."

* * *

Henry sat down and looked over Kazu and Kenta's Digimon cards. "You guys have new cards? And you didn't even bother to tell me or Takato."

"We thought we'd surprise you," Kazu grinned. "You'd never see it coming."

"Yeah, we don't want to be the only guys still losing to you two," Kenta added.

Henry's face fell. "And just what is THAT supposed to mean?"

"Come on, Henry," Kazu sighed. "You guys were great back in the day, but when it comes to the card game…you guys have lost a step lately. Everyone back in high school was beating you guys by the time we graduated. Even the girls!"

"I don't want to think of it that way," Henry shot back. "I want to think of it as a case of me and Takato being GREAT teachers."

"Sure…" Kenta mocked.

"We'll prove it to you guys," Henry replied. "Takato and I met three guys who've never heard of the Digimon Card Game…"

"Wait a second!" Kazu interrupted. "Three guys who've NEVER HEARD of THE Digimon Card Game?"

"I was as surprised as you guys were. I thought it would have spread by now, but I guess it never got past West Shinjuku."

"So who are these guys?" Kenta asked.

"They live down the hall," Henry answered.

"But be careful around one of them," Terriermon warned. "He's a total clod. Just ask Takato."

Henry shook his head. "Terriermon…those were just accidents…"

"Hold on a second," Kazu interrupted again. He walked over to Terriermon, who was sitting on his bed. "What are you saying there, Terriermon? Someone giving our buddy, Takato, a hard time?"

"You'd better believe it!" Terriermon answered. "He knocked over all of his bags and boxes twice. And he banged a door on his nose about four or five times. These can't ALL be accidents…unless he really IS a total goof!"

Henry sighed. "Terriermon…"

"So this guy's been messing with Takato, has he?" Kazu said. "Then maybe it's time we did something about it."

Henry sweatdropped. "I don't like the sound of that. We just got here. We don't need to be burning bridges on our first day."

"I was thinking the same thing, Kazu," Terriermon said, ignoring Henry. "What do you have in mind?"

Kazu scratched his chin. "I think now would be a good time to pull our first college prank, don't you, Kenta?"

"My thoughts exactly," Kenta answered.

"Now wait, guys!" Henry cut them off. "I think you're making too much of this. I mean…they were just accidents."

Kazu and Kenta both glanced at each other mischievously. Henry knew that look all too well.

"Guys…promise me you won't do anything! I don't want any of us making enemies right now!"

Kenta sighed. "You just have to be a goody-two-shoes, don't you, Henry?"

"Promise…!" Henry growled, unfazed and gritting his teeth.

"Ok, ok, chill out," Kazu grudgingly agreed. "We promise not to do anything."

Henry breathed a sigh of relief. "Ok good. Then we'll all get together when Takato comes back for a card game…for old time's sake. Let's go, Terriermon."

"Um…I'll be right with you, Henry. I've just…got to check out some of the cards."

"Ok, but don't stay too long. We don't want anyone to see you."

Leaving Terriermon behind, Henry walked out into the hallway and headed back for his room.

* * *

Terriermon leaped off the bed and walked towards the door. "Ok…he's gone." He turned around and faced Kazu and Kenta. "That's really nice of you guys to promise Henry you wouldn't do anything. But…he didn't say anything about ME, did he?"

Kazu's face brightened. "Cool! What do you got in mind, Terriermon?"

Terriermon scratched his head with one of his ears. "Hmm…I'm open to suggestions. I mean…I AM a little new to the world of college pranks, you know. I'm actually pretty new to the world of pranks, period."

"We've got a little something we've been saving up for an occasion like this," Kazu replied. "Right, Kenta? Pull out…The Pyramid!"

Kenta reached over and pulled out an elaborate diagram, displaying an average college dorm room. MarineAngemon looked over and saw the whole thing…and just shook his head.

"This is The Pyramid," Kenta explained. "What you do is, you get into their room and get a pile of their underwear. Boxer shorts work best. You take a bunch of pairs of their underwear and tape them to their window in the shape of a pyramid for any wanderers to see. And underneath the pyramid, you place a banner saying '(insert guy's name here) has come out of the closet'. Simple, yet humiliating, making it the perfect opening prank.

"Usually, you'd have to wait until the guy does his laundry…but with you, I don't think that'll be a problem."

"Can you get in without being seen, Terriermon?" Kazu asked.

"This is ME we're talking about," Terriermon said confidently. "Should be a piece of cake."

Kazu chuckled. "Perfect! Then we wait until tomorrow after class. Can't wait to see the look on…uh…Terriermon? Just what IS this guy's name, anyway?"

Terriermon huffed. "The goof's name…is Davis."

* * *

Henry reached his room and was just about to open the door, when two guys approached him. They looked to be upper classmen. One of them had blond hair with quite a bit of hair gel, keeping it in pristine condition. The other had brown hair…a LOT of brown hair that just seemed to puff up.

"I don't think we've met you yet," the guy with the big hair said. "You live here?"

"Me? Oh…yeah…"

"We're your RA's. I'm Tai and the man of a thousand hair sprays over here is Matt."

"TAI!" Matt snapped. He quickly regained his composure and turned to Henry. "You'll have to excuse the guy whose hair violates three different zoning laws. We're just walking around introducing ourselves to everybody. What was your name?"

"Henry."

"Henry…ok…is your roommate here?"

"Who, Takato? No, he's having dinner. I'll tell him you guys stopped…"

"Hey…what's that in your hand…?" Tai asked curiously.

Henry looked down at the box in his hands. "Oh this? This is just a box of my cards for the Digimon Card Game."

Matt's eyes widened. "Um……say that again?"

"The Digimon Card Game?" Henry repeated. "Wait a minute…you guys have never heard of it, either?"

"Us…heard of Digimon…?" Tai stuttered. "Why…n-no…never heard of it."

"That's weird," Henry muttered. "I guess no one in Odaiba has ever heard of Digimon. Maybe it's true that it's never gotten past West Shinjuku. That's really odd…especially since I thought this was the place where a Greymon and a Parrotmon were sighted battling nearly ten years ago."

"Is that what those were?" Matt said almost casually. "I can't tell the difference. I mean, this IS Japan. We get monster sightings all the time. You know…Godzilla, Rodan, Greymon…same difference."

Henry sweatdropped. "I see your point…I guess."

"You know, Matt? I think we got something we need to discuss," Tai suddenly piped up. "RA business. Nice meeting you, Henry. Let's go, Matt."

Tai practically pushed Matt aside and into the RA's room. Henry could only stare blankly. This was starting to get VERY weird. Everyone seemed to get so apprehensive whenever he brought up the card game. Maybe they heard about what happened in West Shinjuku. Maybe there was still some anxieties left over from that old Highton View Terrace story, unless it really WAS just a story like Takato thought.

Unable to make any sense of it, Henry just shrugged and went back to his room.

* * *

Tai made sure the coast was clear and shut the door. "Ok…tell me I didn't hear what I thought I did."

"He definitely said Digimon Card Game," Matt confirmed. "I didn't know there was a Digimon Card Game. So some person in West Shinjuku or wherever he said he was from made a Digimon Card Game."

Tai shook his head. "You know what this means, don't you?"

"No…I don't. What DOES it mean?"

"Somebody's making a profit off us!"

Matt blinked. "Profit? You're thinking about profits? First of all, they're profiting off the Digimon…not us."

"But don't you think we should be getting a cut?" Tai pointed out. "I mean we ARE DigiDestined."

"And how many people know that?" Matt shot back. "Not a lot. The thing I don't understand is, there haven't even been that many Digimon sighted in the real world. How could they make a card game out of them already? It's only been…ten years."

Silence. Tai and Matt realized what had just been said.

"It's really been a long time, hasn't it?" Tai said softly. "It's been over ten years since the day we first fell into the Digital World. I can't believe so much time has already passed. Matt…we're not getting any younger. I feel so…old."

Matt looked at Tai strangely. "Old? Tai…we're only 22. We are NOT old."

"Yeah, but I feel like I reached my peak at 12. We're a lot older now."

"So what's your point?"

Tai thought about that. "Maybe it's time…we think about the future. Um…I'll be right back, I have some thinking I need to do."

Matt shook his head. "Jeez, all these feelings over a stupid card game?"

Tai shrugged as he walked out. This was about more than a card game. This was about life. Life…that was going by far too fast for Tai.

* * *

Rika opened the door and turned on the lights. Jeri and the Kari girl hadn't come back, so Rika was all by herself for the moment. At least that's what she thought. With no one around, Rika locked the door so that she could have some alone time with a close friend of hers. Seeing the room cleared, Renamon literally came out of thin air from the window and walked in. To Rika's surprise, Renamon looked…exhausted.

"What's with you?" the concerned Rika asked. "You look like you were in a fight."

"You COULD say that," Renamon panted.

Rika's eyes widened. "You mean you WERE in a fight? What happened?"

Renamon shrugged. "I met with an old 'friend'. Someone I didn't always get along with. She was in this room."

"Someone else was in here?" Rika asked.

"Yes…a Digimon."

"There was a Digimon in here?!"

Renamon nodded. "Someone I knew from a long time ago. And she was someone I didn't get along with. I just didn't like her style."

"Care to talk about it?" Rika suggested.

Renamon took a seat by Rika's bed. "This was a long time ago before I met you, Rika. I was living in another part of the Digital World with a lot of different other Digimon. Like me, they were all trying to become stronger, better fighters. I'd often train with them and try to boost my own strength. And they all took me under their wing. I felt accepted.

"Then one day, it all changed. One day, someone showed up in our territory. It was a poor excuse for a furball named Gatomon. We ignored her at first, but she just kept on bothering us and bothering my allies. She kept trying to tell us her life story about how she knew she's been waiting for someone and just couldn't remember. And then she'd tell us how much she wanted…to make friends. I don't know how it started, but everyone started taking a shine to her. In a matter of days, everyone had stopped training completely and instead focused on being friendly to the mangy furball. It was like I was the only one who remembered what our purpose was.

"Finally, I decided to confront the cat myself. I approached her and immediately gave her an ultimatum: take her 'friendship' routine somewhere else or face the consequences. I still can't believe she responded to that by trying to be friendly. I was trying to be imposing and fearsome…and she wasn't intimidated at all. I never felt so…inferior. So I decided to show the cat just how weak she was. I dragged her over and threw her off a cliff, into the river below.

"I was satisfied, having gotten rid of our biggest distraction. The others weren't so approving of my actions. Instead of going back to the way it was before, they cast me off. I had a chance to get stronger and I lost it all because of that…furball. I've never forgiven her for that. I had to spend the rest of my life training on my own…until the day you became my Tamer.

"I never thought I'd have to see her again. But she was right here."

"How could this Gatomon get in my room?" Rika asked.

"I don't know," Renamon answered. "But all that matters is that she's gone. And it's a good thing, too. I still can't forget the past and how everyone thought she was a perfect little Digimon."

"Sounds like my roommate," Rika muttered.

"Who, Jeri?"

"No! Jeri can be a little annoying, weird, and occasionally…freaky, but at least I can TOLERATE her. This other girl, on the other hand, is working my last nerve with HER whole 'friendship' routine. And you haven't had to hear her life story these last few hours. Every honor possible and beloved by everyone. A total Miss Perfect! I can't begin to tell you how much those types of people ANNOY me!"

"No kidding," Renamon concurred. "And you have to live with her for the whole year?"

"Oh no! I'm NOT going to spend a year with a 'Miss Perfect'! I don't know how, Renamon, but there's got to be some way to bring that girl down to Earth. She will be humbled eventually…even if I have to humble her myself."

"If anyone knows anything about humbling people, it's you, Rika. Unless we're talking about…you know…"

Rika shot Renamon a cold stare. "How many times do I have to tell you? His name is NOT to be spoken around me!"

"Ok…you sure get touchy whenever anyone mentions…"

Renamon stopped in mid-sentence when she saw Rika glaring at her again. That name was a very touchy subject and anytime anyone mentioned him, Rika would almost always completely lose her cool. She was very sensitive when it came to…him.

That's when someone knocked at the door. Renamon decided to make herself scarce and go invisible again, as she usually liked to do to keep herself hidden from view. Rika walked over and opened the door to see Jeri.

"You're back fast," Rika said dryly.

"It took me a while to drop Guilmon off," Jeri replied. "And it took me a little longer to convince Takato to let him stay. And I think Takato lost his appetite when we went to dinner."

"What happened?"

"He ended up wearing a soup and salad on his head."

Rika scoffed. "He's probably just upset because the soup stained his goggles."

"It's kind of a coincidence. It's not the first time Takato ran into this guy who accidentally spiller his soup and salad on him…and what's even weirder is that he and Kari seem to know each other. They were eating together."

Rika started to put two and two together. "Makes sense. If she's 'Miss Perfect', then OF COURSE the boyfriend has to be a total klutz. I'm not surprised at all."

"Now Rika…she never said he was her boyfriend."

"We don't necessarily know that for sure, do we? Maybe we can ask her ourselves and find out."

Jeri thought about that…and smiled. "Think we should?"

"We've found out everything else about her 'perfect' life. We might as well ask about her love life. We'll do it tomorrow. We'll go ahead and ask her every question imaginable."

Jeri giggled and put her arm across Rika's shoulder. "And we won't leave a stone unturned, will we?"

Rika shrugged Jeri's arm off. "Don't…touch me!"

If there was one thing Rika was willing to admit, it was that Jeri wasn't all bad. Rika still considered her a close friend, even if she could be a little TOO girly at times. And whenever the time came to work together, Rika and Jeri could make a good team. And now came the time to work together…

…to grill Kari Kamiya.

* * *

The wait was an impatient one. It had been a while since The Digimon Empress arrived in the Digital World and she was supposed to be working to gather troops for the upcoming invasion. So far, he had yet to see results. And he was starting to get impatient. If an invasion was going to be successful, then they had to have an army large enough to combat a possible resistance from the DigiDestined. He knew how strong they could be since he had battled them once before. But this time, things would be different.

Now that he was reconfigured, he was ready to play with the DigiDestined again, but he soon found himself recruited for a mission of a magnitude even HE could not imagine. It all sounded so delicious that he could not resist. Indeed there was a deadly game about to be played. He couldn't have planned it better himself.

Suddenly, he saw a Tortomon approaching the entrance to the underground Server base. He waved his way and the Tortomon obliged. It looked like The Digimon Empress had done her job and implanted the Black Gear. A Tortomon could be very destructive and he was glad to have one on his side.

"What have we here?" another voice called out. "Ooh, a Tortomon. Splendid! I see the Black Gears are working perfectly."

He turned around to see the sinister ultimate-level android Digimon, Datamon, approach him. Datamon had lived quite the past, himself. He was originally imprisoned by Etemon to run his Dark Network, but had rebelled against him. Of course, Datamon was quite the evil one and he managed to trick the DigiDestined into rescuing him. Once he was freed, he attempted to take over and use Etemon's Dark Network for himself. He even attempted to make a copy of one of the DigiDestined for his own nefarious purposes. But the meddling humans foiled him and he was sucked into a black hole. Now he was reconfigured and just as deranged as ever.

It was Datamon, in fact, who first discovered the brains behind this whole operation years ago. Stumbling upon him with one of his many clever devices, Datamon made contact with The Dark One and was given the proposal to create an army for an invasion of the real world.

He, himself, didn't run into Datamon until one day many years ago. And he was recruited for a number of reasons. For one thing, he was very powerful and nearly destroyed the DigiDestined years ago. But another thing was, he knew better than any other how to pull strings. And combined with Datamon's intellect and creations, he was able to begin pulling the strings of a certain Digimon Empress. But that was a story in itself.

"Although we are behind schedule, we are still making sufficient progress," Datamon said. "At this rate, we should have our army ready any day now."

"So what should we do?" he asked. "Should we make contact again?"

"We all know he's the brains behind the operation," Datamon pointed out. "He knows just what to do. So maybe we should get our instructions from him. Even IF our little Digimon Empress isn't around."

He went into a fit of crazed laughter. "It's almost time, isn't it? It's almost time to play, right?"

"Yes, it's almost time for the games to begin. And that will be most glorious."

He was excited. He couldn't wait to get this party started. He had forgotten what it was like to play with the DigiDestined and he was eager to party with them again. And nobody knew more about partying than…

…Puppetmon.

* * *

"So have you liked it here so far?"

"I love it here, TK! I wondered what I was missing in Japan when I first met you. And now I see how wonderful life is over here. It was starting to get boring around France. I'm just glad to get out."

After a long dinner, everyone was now walking along the grassy path of the university's garden. Davis couldn't take his eyes off TK and this new girl, but he wasn't the only one. He also noticed Kari was watching the two like a hawk. It looked like Catherine's sudden arrival completely caught her off-guard. And it appeared that neither TK nor Catherine were aware of Kari's glares. Davis started to think…she was jealous.

"Um…Kari?" Davis began. "Can we talk…alone?" Before Kari even answered, Davis turned to his friends. "I'm sure you guys have a lot to talk about. We'll catch up to you."

Kari couldn't even protest, because Davis was already dragging her by a tree. Everyone stopped momentarily, but decided to let the two have their moment of privacy and kept walking along.

"Did you really have to pick now to talk to me?" Kari huffed.

"I had to!" Davis shot back. "You were glaring a hole right into Catherine…and TK. Is something bothering you?"

"W-Why…would you t-think something's bothering me?" Kari stuttered.

Davis raised an eyebrow. "Kari…"

"Well…maybe something IS bothering me," Kari sighed. "Didn't you notice the way TK's eyes nearly popped out when he saw that Catherine girl? It was like he saw the most beautiful girl in the world. We were together for almost five years…and he NEVER looked at me like that…not even once."

Davis frowned. "Kari…I'm sure it was just because he hadn't seen her in a long time. I'm sure it's not what you think it is."

Kari's face fell. "I guess it didn't take TK so long to forget about me."

"Who said he's forgetting about you?" Davis asked incredulously. "I mean…they're just talking. And just because TK hasn't taken his eyes off Catherine doesn't mean anything. Like I said, it's just because he hasn't seen her in a long time. I don't think it's because he likes her or anything. And even if it is…then what does it matter? You two broke up, remember? That's…why we're going out this Friday night, right?"

Kari came to a realization. "You know something? You're right. I have to remember that TK and I are finished. It's just…not easy to stop looking at the past."

"Are you or TK ever going to tell any of us why you broke up in the first place?"

Kari hesitated. "Davis……we don't want to talk about it. Please just respect that."

"Ok…I won't ask. Kari…if you're not ready to start dating again…then we don't have to go out Friday night…"

Kari stopped Davis in his tracks. "Davis…I DO want to go out with you. You're a VERY sweet guy and I would never forgive myself if I didn't go out with you. I've never known anyone else who cares about me as much as you do. So don't you even think that I'm not ready to go out Friday night. We're going out and we're going to have a good time."

Davis blushed. "I can't wait."

Kari kissed Davis on the cheek. "Let's catch up to everyone."

Davis stood frozen, with his cheeks blushing a bright red. "Yeah…can't wait…"

Kari giggled as she tried to lead Davis by the hand. Of course, Davis had lost all feeling in his legs. With each passing day…Kari seemed to be falling for him more and more…and that's all he could ever really ask for.

* * *

Kari couldn't believe herself. For a moment, she was actually getting jealous. Davis was right, though. She had nothing to be jealous about. For one thing, she and TK were already broken up. And another thing, jealousy was completely unnecessary. There was nothing that said there was anything more than two friends reminiscing over old times. Maybe Kari was just feeling insecure because Catherine looked so beautiful.

As Kari continued leading Davis by the hand, she wondered if she could ever hope to be that beautiful. But all she had to do was look into the eyes of Davis to see that she looked just fine.

"Psst…Kari!"

Kari stopped as she heard someone calling her from one of the bushes. She took Davis's hand and walked him towards the bush. Kari gasped when she saw Gatomon there and she looked a bit worse for the wear.

"Gatomon, what happened?" Kari asked. "What are you doing out here?"

"She's here, Kari," Gatomon said nervously.

"Who?" Davis asked curiously.

Gatomon looked sadly into Kari's eyes. Kari didn't understand at first and then she remembered the story Gatomon told her earlier. Kari's eyes widened and Gatomon nodded, as if to confirm her silent guess.

"I don't know how, but she got in our room," Gatomon continued. "And we picked up right where we left off. First we argued…then we fought. We both fell right out the window."

Davis scratched his head. "Is there something I should know?"

"Long story," Kari answered without taking her eyes off Gatomon. "Are you all right?"

"I'm ok," Gatomon nodded. "I showed HER just how strong I could be. If she knows what's good for her, she won't want another piece of this."

Kari bent down so Gatomon could jump in her arms. "Come on then. Let's get back to our room. If nobody's there, maybe I can feed you something from our fridge."

"I hope so," Gatomon grinned.

Davis tapped Kari on the shoulder. "You want to tell me what's going on?"

"If you walk me to my room, I'll tell you everything."

"It's a deal!"

"Ok…it's like this…"

* * *

Matt reached over the phone. A few hours had passed since Tai had gone to take a walk, to supposedly think about where his life was going. Matt shrugged. He knew more than anybody how important it was to go finding one's self, but he honestly thought Tai was overreacting on this one. After all, Tai was reacting out of the revelation of a CARD GAME! It was absurd.

But the revelation of a Digimon Card Game was nothing to sneeze at and Matt knew that. That's why he decided to pick up the phone and call…his girlfriend upstairs.

_"Hello?"_

"Hey Sora! You busy right now?"

_"Well…Mimi and I were working on some designs, but we could take a break. What's up?"_

"We need to have a little meeting…you know, the old gang. There's something we need to talk about."

_"What's that?"_

"We'll talk about it when I get there. In the meantime, call Izzy and Joe. They'll want to hear this, too."

_"Uh…ok. So I guess you and Tai will be here?"_

"Well…I am. I don't know about Tai. He isn't here right now."

_"Where is he?"_

"He's taking a walk, because…well…maybe it's better I don't say."

_"What? Why can't you tell me now, Matt?"_

Matt didn't quite know how to answer. "It's…weird. Tai's just been acting strange. I'll tell you about it tomorrow; I'm feeling pretty tired."

_"Fine then! But you'd better tell me tomorrow! This is making me curious."_

"Ok! Night, Sora!"

Matt hung up and went straight to bed. He hoped he wasn't forgetting about any RA business, but he was sure there was nothing to do. Besides, if there WAS, then Tai could always do it when he got back.

Tomorrow, it would be time to have a chat with the old DigiDestined.

  


Next Week: We get started with the first day of school! Our characters get to interact with each other a little more, but there are a few surprises, especially with the old Hypnos gang going undercover as professors. But the surprise of the day won't come from the university itself. It'll come from a few blocks away…at Odaiba High School. Also, our old DigiDestined friends will have a meeting, but will Tai even be there? And what big suggestion will Matt make? Find out on the next Digimon: The College Years!

  


Any comments? Then mail me at AmericanCaptor@hotmail.com and don't forget to review below!


	5. Day One

Last Week: Davis and Takato had another unfortunate run-in in the cafeteria…where Davis proceeded to have another accident. Yolei introduced Catherine to her friends and to everyone's surprise, she and TK knew each other. Rika and Renamon had a little talk just as Jeri came back. Jeri and Rika then decided to give Kari an intense questioning…about her love life. Calumon met up with Impmon and after a brief conversation, Impmon decided that it was time to move away from West Shinjuku. Despite Henry's protests, Kazu, Kenta, and Terriermon are all planning their first college prank…with Davis, TK, and Ken as the intended victims. Meanwhile, Henry got to meet RA's, Tai and Matt. When Tai and Matt got to talking about the Digimon Card Game, Tai had an epiphany and walked out. Deciding there were more important matters, Matt called together a meeting of the old DigiDestined.

  


**Digimon: The College Years**

Episode 5- Day One

  


The sun rose and the alarm clock blared, signaling the start of a new day. Davis instinctively reached over, grabbed the clock, and tossed it across the room, like he usually did every morning he had to go to school. There was just one difference between now and before.

"OW! Davis!"

Davis suddenly went wide awake. He sat up and opened his eyes to see where he threw his clock. He saw that he literally clocked TK on the forehead.

"S-Sorry, TK. I guess it's a force of habit."

Ken just calmly turned over and kept his eyes closed. "Can you guys keep it quiet? My class doesn't start until 11."

Davis just shrugged. Ken had it pretty lucky. He didn't have to start with an early eight o'clock class. Knowing it was time to start his first day of classes, Davis got to his feet and walked over to his closet. But as he opened the closet doors, a blue hand reached out and handed him his wardrobe for the day.

"Here you go, Davish."

Davis sweatdropped. "Thanks, Veemon."

While TK and Ken kept sleeping, Davis changed into his day's wear (topped off by his goggles) and got ready to go. He poured himself a quick bowl of cereal and grabbed his backpack. Feeling ready for his first day, Davis walked out of his room and headed for the hall door. But he ran into someone on the way.

Davis grinned cheerfully. "Hey Takato!"

Takato was a little wary to say the least. "Hey Davis. You're not pouring that cereal over my head, are you?"

"Of course not. I wouldn't do that sort of thing on purpose. Besides, I'm eating this. So where are you headed to?"

Takato looked at his schedule. "College Writing 101."

"Me too!" Davis said cheerfully.

Takato blinked. "Uh…great. Well, I guess we can walk there together."

"Oh, of course!"

It looked like there was a smile forming on Takato's face. Davis's cheery demeanor looked to be contagious and Takato was far from immune.

"You know something, Davis? Maybe we got off on the wrong foot. I mean, it's hard to see the best in a person when he's knocking you over, throwing doors in your face, or splashing a soup over your head."

"I know what you mean. If I were you, I would have done something to get even with me."

"Eh, I'm not the kind of guy to get mad easily."

"So what kind of guy ARE you?"

This was the kind of opportunity Davis relished. This was the chance to get to know some new people. And it looked like Takato was more than willing to share as they both headed to their College Writing class together.

"Well, I guess I'm a pretty laid back kind of guy. I've been that way since I was a kid…"

* * *

The sun was rising and the glare from the bright star was already waking Matt for another day. He opened his eyes and sat up, recalling that he arranged for the old gang to meet up in Sora and Mimi's room. But what surprised him was that he looked over at the other bed to find it unmade and empty. Tai was already gone…even though his first class didn't start until ten o'clock. It was barely 6:30.

"Tai…" Matt snarled under his breath.

Matt got to his feet and just decided to get ready for another day. He'd go to that meeting without Tai if necessary. This whole 'feeling old' thing was beyond ridiculous and Matt knew Tai was just being silly. Maybe the rest of them would agree. But Matt wasn't calling this meeting to discuss Tai. He wasn't even calling it to discuss the existence of that Digimon Card Game. Well…that was part of the reason.

No, Matt actually had an ulterior motive for calling this meeting of the old DigiDestined. He had a proposal he needed to make.

* * *

Class was about to get underway and Henry felt fully prepared for what this day had ahead of him. He was already preparing himself for a long day of classes that began with his freshman computer science class. Of course, before getting into the hands-on part of the class, there was to be a brief intro and that would come from the lecture lab.

Kenta tapped Henry on the shoulder. "Henry…I see someone checking you out."

Henry curiously turned his head to see two girls looking his way, but when they were spotted, they quickly turned back around. It was as if they were nervous.

"What did I tell you?" Kenta grinned. "Shinjuku High's most eligible bachelor."

"We're not starting THAT again, are we?" Henry groaned.

"It's true, isn't it?"

Henry just stayed silent. Kazu and Kenta just wouldn't let up with that whole bachelor thing. And neither would Terriermon, for that matter. Henry was just hoping to forget about it. It sounded silly. He didn't think he was that desirable.

At about 9:05, Henry saw his professor come in. It was a young woman, likely approaching her thirties, with straight brown hair reaching down to her neck and a white lab coat that went down to her knees.

"Good morning, class. Welcome to CMSI 185, Computer Science, my name is Professor Onodera."

Henry couldn't quite put his finger on it, but this woman looked familiar. He could've sworn he had seen her before.

"Henry, please tell me you aren't checking out our professor," Kenta whispered with a wry grin.

"Shut up," Henry growled softly.

The professor made her way up to the front of the classroom, but she ran into someone. He looked like an older student, who had his hair cut pretty short and was carrying around a laptop.

Professor Onodera was caught by surprise. "Oh…can I help you?"

"Oh don't mind me," he said before extending his hand. "I'm your Teacher's Aide. I'm Izzy Izumi."

Professor Onodera hesitated before accepting the handshake. "Oh…I get a Teacher's Aide. I wasn't expecting to get one. Well it's very nice to meet you."

"Likewise. So…I'll just let you continue."

Professor Onodera suddenly remembered what she was doing there. "Oh…yes…thank you, Izzy."

Henry was watching all this intently. He couldn't quite remember from where, but he sensed he had seen this woman before.

* * *

Class was getting started and Takato was ready to go. Of course, from the look on Davis's face, it didn't look like he was looking forward to actually having to SIT through a class. After getting to know this guy for a few minutes, he didn't start to sound so bad. For one thing, they both realized they had a big interest in goggles.

At around 8:07, the professor walked in. Takato wasn't exactly paying attention, though. But when the professor introduced himself, West Shinjuku's goggle boy got a big shock.

"Good morning, I trust you all enjoyed your vacation. This is College Writing 101. I am Professor Yamaki."

The name immediately got Takato's attention. He turned around to look at the front of the class. Wearing that suit and dark sunglasses and with the lighter hanging from his pocket, there was no mistaking that this was indeed the very same Yamaki from Takato's past. Takato couldn't take his eyes off him. He hadn't seen Yamaki in years. When did he become a college professor?

"Takato? Are you alright?" Davis asked.

Takato blinked. "Uh…yeah…"

For Takato, these 50 minutes would go awfully slow. It felt weird having this old ally as his professor. Yamaki quickly gathered his sheet and started taking roll as any instructor would do. But he would quickly encounter a surprise.

"Hmm…Matsuki?"

Takato raised his hand. "Here!"

Yamaki raised his shades to get a better look and, indeed, he saw Takato sitting in his desk. A knowing smirk widened on his face. He obviously recognized him from the old days. But Yamaki didn't say anything. He just kept taking roll.

This was set to be an interesting semester.

* * *

Time was flying by fast, but Kari made it to her class on time. It was 8:55 and her first class was about to begin. Everyone was starting to take their seats. Kari scrambled to find anywhere to sit, feeling a little nervous about being in another new environment.

"Oh great. You have to sit next to me, too?"

Kari didn't notice it, but she sat in the desk…that was right next to Rika. She didn't look happy to see her at all and Kari could only chuckle nervously. Kari slowly took her seat while Rika just looked away.

That's when the professor walked in. "Good morning, class. I hope you all enjoyed your vacation. This is Math 132, Calculus I, and I am your instructor. My name is Dr. Marquez."

She was a slender young woman, looking only about a few years older than Tai. She had a long brown ponytail with a pair of glasses, making her look very intelligent. She wore a black dress with a long white lab coat. But what made her particularly interesting to Kari was that she wasn't even Japanese.

Dr. Marquez started walking around the classroom. "Before I get started, I would just like to say a few things about the course. Obviously, if you don't study, you won't pass. But there's more to this course than meets the eye. Many of the problems you'll encounter are difficult, but this course will help you find various ways of dealing with them. There are ways to solve them that might surprise you. What may appear to be a problem of about 30-minutes length may actually turn out to take only less than five. If there's one thing I want you all to walk out of this course knowing…

"…it's that nothing is as it seems."

Usually, math wasn't the most stimulating subject for Kari. But there was something about Dr. Marquez that was really interesting her. She was making this sound pretty fascinating and was obviously into her work. This was the sort of thing Kari was hoping to achieve. She wanted to have that same excitement for teaching.

Dr. Marquez smiled. "So let us begin…"

* * *

A few minutes had passed since his class ended. Yamaki was just organizing his roll sheet and getting ready to go get some coffee. His first day as a writing professor went very well. Luckily, past experiences and a curriculum he could work with was making this not only easy, but also invigorating. He also found some pretty interesting things in his first day undercover.

"Um…Professor Yamaki?"

And there was one of them, standing by the door. It was an old ally by the name of…

"Takato, come on in."

Takato Matsuki slowly made his way back into the classroom, stopping in front of Yamaki's desk. Yamaki remembered the strong boy, his friends, and their Digimon. They could be of great assistance, but Yamaki didn't want to resort to the old Tamers at this point in time. He didn't even know what he was up against just yet. Yamaki didn't have a suspect in mind. And maybe...there was a little ego involved also. Yamaki wanted to try and wrap this up without the assistance of the Tamers.

"How have you been, sir?" Takato asked.

Yamaki wasn't ready to reveal everything now. "Well, I've mostly been taking it easy these last few years. I haven't been working as much and…things have been pretty slow. I guess the guys at the top decided that with everything that happened back in West Shinjuku all those years ago, I deserved a break."

"But I didn't know you were a professor here," Takato pointed out.

Yamaki hesitated. He didn't want to reveal to Takato that he was undercover. He didn't want to get him mixed up in this unless it was absolutely necessary.

"I've…had my Master's and teaching credentials for a while now and while I'm on leave…I decided to get into teaching."

It wasn't the best excuse in the world, but it looked good enough to work. And sure enough, it looked like Takato had bought it.

"Oh, ok. I guess I wasn't expecting to run into you again. Not like this, anyway."

"I was thinking the exact same thing," Yamaki smirked. "You take it easy, Takato. I look forward to teaching you this semester…and seeing your work. You know the assignment, right?"

Takato sighed. "Pages 1 through 80. I got it."

"Good. Now you better get started on that."

Takato started heading out. "Yes, Professor Yamaki."

A thought suddenly hit Yamaki as he saw Takato walk out. A lot of memories of the past were coming back and they had him wondering…

…was that Digimon of his here too?

* * *

As TK headed to his next class, he saw Ken looking at him curiously. It had been that way since they both left the dorm to go to their history class. And TK knew exactly what he had on his mind.

"What do you want to ask me, Ken?" TK sighed.

"How long have you known that girl?" Ken asked.

TK groaned. "Why does everybody want to know about me and Catherine?!"

Ken sweatdropped. "You two just seemed close, that's all."

TK raised an eyebrow. "We were NOT close. We didn't even know each other that long. I mean, if I knew a hot girl like that for a long time, do you think I wouldn't have gotten close to her?"

Ken snickered. "Oh, I can only imagine what Kari would say if she heard something like that."

"What's your point?" TK muttered dryly. "Kari and I broke up, remember?"

"Oh, right. I almost forgot. Sorry, I'm just not used to hearing you say that sort of thing about any other girl."

"Let's drop it," TK scowled through gritted teeth.

Ken just shrugged and said nothing more. TK didn't like being reminded about his breakup with Kari. It still brought back bad memories. On the other hand, maybe this opened up some new doors. He never thought he'd see the beautiful Catherine again. Maybe this could be a new beginning for him. He just wondered what Kari would think.

Then he shrugged that line of thinking off. It didn't matter what Kari thought. If she didn't like this, then that was her problem. He had no obligation to her anymore. They were broken up.

TK and Ken walked into their classroom and sat down in front of a guy in a black t-shirt and a girl in a green blouse.

The guy turned around. "Hey, nice to see you guys in this class. My name's Kazu."

"Oh, my name's TK. And this is Ken."

The girl sitting behind Ken extended the hand of friendship. "Hi! My name's Jeri."

"Oh, I think our friend, Davis, might have told us about you," Ken said, accepting the handshake. "You're Takato's friend, right?"

"Uh…is Davis the one who spilled the soup and salad on Takato?" Jeri asked.

TK chuckled. "That sounds like Davis, alright. It's nice to meet you, Jeri. Hmm…where else have I heard that name before?"

"Maybe Kari told you about me. I'm her roommate. Uh…one of them, anyway."

"You know, it'd be nice to get to know each other like this," Kazu sighed. "I mean, I've only heard about you guys…especially Davis. But I can't believe we start class in about a minute."

"I take it you aren't the studious type?" TK asked.

"Eh, not really. It's kinda been that way since I was a kid. Even going back to elementary school. Oh man, I could go on all day about this one teacher I had. She totally had it in for me and my best friend."

"You didn't like her?" Ken asked.

"No way!" Kazu scoffed. "Miss Asaji? I couldn't stand that woman at all. You want to talk about a windbag…"

Jeri gasped. "Kazu?"

"Jeri, I'm not finished. Anyway, you want to talk about a windbag, Miss Asaji was the kind of teacher who would never shut up. And talk about BORING. I went through four years of high school and all of those teachers combined couldn't hold a candle to how boring Miss Asaji was. She was like my instant cure for insomnia. I am SO glad to never have to see her again. Jeri? Why are you pointing like that?"

Kazu slowly turned around and the young man saw a middle-aged long-haired woman in a purple dress towering over him. TK didn't know why Kazu's mouth suddenly fell wide open. And he didn't know why this woman had a very wry grin on her face. Then he found out why.

"Hello, Kazu. Remember me?"

"M-M-M-M-M-M-Miss…"

"That's PROFESSOR Asaji to YOU, Mr. Shiota. I'd love to say hello, but I have a class to start. Besides, if I keep talking to you all day, I'd probably just bore you."

Professor Asaji started walking to the front of the class as Kazu's mouth just stayed open. Ken waved a hand over his face and he got no reaction. The poor guy was in utter shock.

Jeri sweatdropped. "Wow…that was unexpected."

Ken grinned. "Hey TK, it's a good thing nothing like that's happened to…"

TK cut him off by holding his hand up. "Ken…PLEASE don't tempt fate."

Miss Asaji began what was sure to be a long class. "Good morning, class. And welcome to Ancient Western Civilization…"

* * *

The bell rang ten minutes ago and that meant school was out at Odaiba High. And that meant Cody was free for the day. Of course, he had another hundred and something days to go. But for right now, he just wanted to forget about high school and go visit his old friends, who were now all going to Odaiba University. But this didn't seem to be a regular walk, because Cody noticed something behind him.

A girl his age was walking right behind, as if she were going the same way…or following him. It was the same girl Cody had seen for a while now. The very same Mexican girl who found him in the Inoue's store. Cody stopped in his tracks and turned around.

"Hey, are you following me?"

The girl suddenly noticed Cody and stopped. "Oh, I didn't see you here."

"Yeah, right. Why are you following me?"

The girl shrugged nonchalantly. "Man, are you paranoid. What makes you think I'd follow you ANYWHERE?"

"You want to know why, Rosa? Because every time I turn around, you seem to be right there."

"Cody, please believe me when I say I would NOT follow you anywhere. You must have a pretty high opinion of yourself."

"Well if you aren't following me, then where ARE you going?"

"I'm going to Odaiba University."

"HA! You ARE following me! That's where I'm going, too!"

"That's not following you. That's called a coincidence, burro! I know someone up there. But what are you going there for?"

"I have friends up there. They said I could drop by anytime…and today's as good a time as any, so I decided to go up for a visit."

"If we're both going up there, then we might as well go together," Rosa suggested.

"Fine, but don't get any ideas," Cody smirked.

Rosa scoffed and smacked Cody upside the head. "Puerco."

Cody rubbed the back of his head. "And no fair insulting me in a foreign language."

"Just walk, burro."

Cody shrugged and walked beside Rosa. He was 16 now and was growing older each day. He had come a long way from that little kid who first entered the Digital World at the age of nine. If anything, some elements of Davis, Ken, and TK were starting to rub off on him. Of course, that wasn't always a good thing.

He couldn't wait to see his friends again. But he didn't want them to get the wrong idea when he walked in with Rosa.

* * *

Later that day, around four o'clock, Matt knocked on the Resident Advisors' door on the second floor. He didn't have to wait long before Sora opened the door and let him in. Matt came in and Sora quickly shut the door behind him. He started to wonder why Sora would be so quick to close the door, but he soon saw why. Sora and Mimi were both harboring Digimon, namely Biyomon and Palmon. And the two Digimon…were wearing dresses. Biyomon had a little red dress while Palmon wore a small pink dress with floral patterns. And of course, both of them were wearing hats.

"What's with them?" Matt asked curiously.

"They're helping us with our new designs," Sora answered. "We're hoping to expand into children's apparel by next fall."

Sora and Mimi hadn't given up on their endeavor of a fashion line. The STMT label wasn't exactly a multimillion dollar conglomerate by any means. But the fact that it was still going on strong was a testament to Sora and Mimi's will and talent.

Matt shrugged. "I can't believe the clothing line's lasted this long. I thought…"

"You thought WHAT?" Sora cut him off, making sure to give him a cold stare.

"Yes, Matt, what DID you think?" Mimi added with a tone of anger.

Matt shrugged again and tried to divert their attention. "Hey, Biyomon! That's a good look for you."

"You think so?" Biyomon asked. She twirled around to show off the whole dress. "This kind of design would take the Digital World by storm…that is…if we wore clothes."

"I didn't doubt Mimi for a second," Palmon added. "She's always had a sixth sense for what's in."

As Biyomon and Palmon continued to show off their ensemble, there was another knocking on the door. Sora and Mimi shot the Digimon knowing glances and they both took the hint. Biyomon and Palmon slinked to the corner and stood perfectly still, going into their stuffed animal act. Sora opened the door, but found that it wasn't a stranger, but it was just junior Izzy Izumi and fifth-year senior Joe Kido. Izzy was carrying his laptop, a significant upgrade from his old pineapple laptop, and Joe was carrying…Gomamon.

Joe immediately stumbled in and dropped Gomamon. "You've GOT to go on a diet!"

"Speaking of food, I'm pretty hungry," Gomamon grinned. "Got anything to eat?"

Palmon walked over and stuffed a bagel in Gomamon's mouth. "Here! Eat this!"

The fishy Digimon swallowed the bagel whole. "A little sour for my tastes."

"You know, I don't think we're all meeting here to feed you," Joe told Gomamon. Then he turned to Matt. "You're the one who called this meeting. What's up?"

"Since when does Matt call meetings?" Izzy pointed out. "Doesn't Tai usually reserve that 'honor' for himself?"

"Tai's out right now," Matt answered. "I haven't been able to get in touch with him all day. It's been that way since last night. He says he needs to do some soul-searching because he's feeling old."

"Tai's feeling old?" Joe asked with a tone of skepticism.

"Old? We're barely in our early 20s," Mimi said. "I don't even have wrinkles yet, thank goodness."

"Why would Tai suddenly start feeling old?" Sora asked.

"Because of a little discovery we made downstairs," Matt tried answering. "And it's the other reason I called us all here. Did you guys know…about a Digimon Card Game?"

Izzy raised an eyebrow. "This isn't a business proposition, is it? I don't have a dime to invest."

"No, there's ALREADY a Digimon Card Game," Matt clarified. "There IS a Digimon Card Game out there!"

"But…how can that be?" Sora asked skeptically. "There have hardly been any Digimon sightings here unless you want to count that ugly incident with Myotismon, but that was ten years ago."

"Actually, the kid Tai and I ran into remembered hearing about the Highton View Terrace incident," Matt continued. "But that's not the point."

"Then what IS your point?" Izzy asked. "So someone's seen the phenomenon of Digimon in the real world and has decided to make a game out of it. Likely, it's just a regional thing. Don't tell me you think we should be profiting off that."

"No, actually that's what Tai thinks," Matt said.

"Then what point are you trying to make, Matt?" Joe asked.

"Well…if this Digimon Card Game is spreading like I think it is…then the whole country and maybe even the world may be starting to get an idea of what Digimon are. So I'm thinking…maybe we should think about dropping the whole stuffed animal thing. Don't you all think it's time to let the world know about the Digimon and that they ARE real? Isn't it time for the Digimon to reveal themselves?"

Silence.

Matt frowned. "Well?"

Izzy finally broke the silence. "Are your brain cells malfunctioning?"

"You've got to be kidding!" Joe added.

"You must be out of your mind!" Mimi finished.

Matt sweatdropped. "I take it you aren't cool with the idea."

"Why don't you think about what you just suggested, Matt?" Izzy began. "Think about how the populous reacted to seeing Greymon, Parrotmon, and later on, Myotismon. Everyone panicked! And some panicked more than others, right Mimi?"

Mimi nodded. "My parents ended up moving me halfway across the world because of it."

"Matt…I agree that Digimon can't keep up this charade forever," Izzy continued. "But to think that the world's ready for such a huge revelation would be madness."

Matt blinked. "So what are you saying?"

"He's saying it's too early," Joe replied. "Some people are still trying to forget the whole Myotismon 'I'm-here-to-take-over-the-world' incident. People are ignorant and afraid of what they can't understand. So I have to agree with Izzy on this one."

"Me too," Mimi added. "I would love it if humans and Digimon could live in harmony, but that can't happen right now. Especially with human nature being what it is. I'm sorry Matt, but I agree with Joe and Izzy."

Matt shrugged. "But aren't you all tired of hiding your Digimon?"

"Of course we are," Joe answered. "Trust me, it's no fun to carry Gomamon around all the time."

"I can be a pretty heavy load," Gomamon grinned.

"But the risks are just too great," Joe continued. "The Digital World is in peace right now. But if we reveal it to people, then they might try to take advantage of it, reshape it, or even destroy it. There aren't just evil Digimon out there, but also evil people. We can't forget that."

It was all sinking in slowly to Matt. "So…you're saying…"

Izzy decided to put his answer delicately. "All opposed, raise their hands."

Izzy, Joe, and Mimi all raised their hands.

"The nays have it," Izzy nodded. "Sorry, Matt. We can't do this."

Matt sighed and headed for the door. "Ok, I respect your decision. Meeting adjourned."

Without hearing a second word, Matt walked out the door. He was obviously disappointed with the outcome. Matt was tired of Digimon having to hide from the world. He wanted Digimon to come to the real world with confidence. But he also had to admit that his friends had a point. People WOULD overreact to seeing new, strange creatures in their world. That's one of the reasons that Matt kept Gabumon in the Digital World. He was afraid of the consequences of someone discovering him.

Matt was ready to head downstairs to go back to his room. He was wondering if Tai had come back, but he didn't make it to the staircase before someone called out for him.

"Matt?"

Matt turned around to see Sora, who was slowly walking up to him.

"Matt…I think it's a good idea," Sora told him. "It's just that…the others aren't ready yet."

"They probably have a good point," Matt sighed. "You think the Digimon will ever be able to come out, Sora?"

Sora smiled and her eyes sparkled with hope. "I know they will someday. It might even be sooner than you think. You never know what might happen."

Matt smiled back. "Thanks, Sora. I can always count on you to make me feel better. Think you can do that for Tai when he gets back?"

Sora smirked flirtatiously. "Well…why don't we go down to your room and wait for him? I bet we can keep ourselves busy while we wait."

"I like that idea," Matt grinned. He quickly dragged Sora away by the hand. "Let's go!"

Having time alone with Sora was the best Matt could have asked for. He was almost hoping Tai didn't come back at all.

* * *

TK slowly made his way downstairs alongside Ken, Kazu, and Jeri. The long day was finally over and everyone was happy for that. Now it was time to go back to the dorm, but TK couldn't help but notice something.

"Kazu, are you ok?"

Kazu had a bewildered look on his face the whole day. It started when he saw Professor Asaji.

"Don't mind him," Jeri scoffed. "The shock hasn't set in yet."

"She's got it in for me, Jeri," Kazu said for about the hundredth time. "I can feel it!"

"Kazu, she hasn't said a word to you," Jeri pointed out. "Professor Asaji never called on you."

"Don't you see it, though?" Kazu argued. "She's playing mind games with me! She's trying to lull me into a false sense of security! She's out to get me!"

"Kazu, you're being silly," Jeri huffed.

"Yeah, I have to agree with Jeri," Ken added. "I don't think Professor Asaji even noticed you."

"That's because she hasn't thought of what she wants to do to me yet," Kazu persisted. "You don't know Miss Asaji! She lived to make my life miserable and she won't rest until she ruins my college life!"

Jeri shook her head. "You are overreacting. Only you would be this paranoid, Kazu."

"KAZU! She's back!"

TK saw Jeri shake her head again, because a blue-haired boy wearing glasses quickly ran up to Kazu, looking just as worried as he was.

"Don't tell me you have her, too!" Kazu wailed.

"She's my 1:00!"

"NOOOOOO!!!" both boys cried.

Jeri sighed deeply. "TK, Ken, I'd like you to meet Kenta."

Behind Jeri, a girl with red hair arranged in a ponytail that stood up. And she didn't look too happy. She looked rather exasperated, as if she had been putting up with Kenta's antics for a while now.

"Hi Jeri. I'm guessing Dumb and Dumber are giving each other the news?"

"Oh you bet," Jeri sighed. "Rika, have you met some of our new friends? This is TK and that's Ken. TK, Ken, this is my other roommate, Rika."

Rika extended the hand of friendship, accepted by TK and then Ken. "It's nice to meet you." Rika eyed TK's white hat. "Nice hat. It's a good look for you."

"And it's nice meeting you, too," Ken said. "Kari hasn't told us about you yet."

Rika raised an eyebrow. "You two know Kari?"

Ken nodded. "Oh yeah. I'm her friend and TK's her…"

TK immediately shot Ken a cold stare. He didn't even want him to say that forbidden word.

Ken sweatdropped. "Uh…TK's…also her friend."

Rika maintained a serious demeanor. "I…see. Speaking of Kari…Jeri, shouldn't we be getting back to our room now? For…you know…?"

Jeri's face lit up. "Oh! Right! That! We should get going. It was nice meeting you guys and it'll be nice to see you everyday."

Rika and Jeri walked away, while Kazu and Kenta were still wailing away. Suddenly, the two boys noticed Rika and Jeri were gone and immediately ceased their whining.

Kazu sweatdropped. "Uh…we should go, too."

So did Kenta. "Yeah. See ya."

Kazu and Kenta walked off. TK and Ken just exchanged unsure glances. They didn't know what to make of this day so far, so they just both shrugged and headed back to the dorm.

"So, TK…about you and Catherine…"

* * *

Henry was in shock. "You're kidding, right?"

"I'm not kidding," Takato responded. "Yamaki's really one of the professors here. He's one of MY professors."

"Since when does Yamaki teach?" Henry asked.

"I thought it was weird, too," Takato admitted. "But I got a chance to talk to him earlier and I guess this is just the best way for him to walk away from all that government work."

"But do you really think Yamaki would just stop working for the government all of a sudden?" Henry pointed out. "Why would he just switch jobs?"

"So he got tired of the stress," Terriermon offered. "I know if I was a human working to try and stop the Devas and the D-Reaper, then I'd probably think of switching jobs, too. You agree with me, don't you, Guilmon?"

"I don't know," Guilmon said. "I can't think on an empty stomach. I'm hungry, Takato."

As if on cue, Takato's stomach growled. "That makes two of us. Maybe we should go get dinner."

"Ok."

Guilmon started heading for the door, but Takato immediately cut him off.

"And by 'we', I mean me and Henry. You're staying here."

"Ok, bring me back something, Takato."

Henry waited by the door as Takato caught up to him. Henry would have dinner, but his thoughts were definitely elsewhere. He couldn't stop thinking about why Yamaki was here.

* * *

After getting back to his room, TK laid back on his bed, having gotten his first day of class over with. But he had to get used to knowing that he wouldn't get much alone time. For one thing, there was Davis and Veemon on one bed. Ken and Yolei were on the other bed. Wormmon was sitting in his drawer. And of course there was Patamon, who was sitting right by TK's head.

Things were still pretty quiet. At least until TK started hearing some arguing coming from the hallway, followed by a knock on their door.

"Who could that be?" TK asked.

TK walked over as the three Digimon froze and went into their stuffed animal act. He answered the door and found an old friend.

"Hey, college guys!"

"Cody!"

TK was happy to see his friend, Cody. And as happy as Cody looked to see them, there looked to be something bothering him as he looked down the hall.

"You know you don't have to follow me anymore," he called out. "We're already here. Don't you have someone to meet?"

A girl suddenly walked up to Cody. "I can meet her in a little bit. But I was hoping to meet your friends."

Cody sighed. "Ok. Guys, this is…"

Ken gasped and got to his feet. "ROSA?"

Yolei looked puzzled. "Rosa?"

Rosa gasped when she saw Ken. Her face immediately lit up and she rushed over to give him a big hug.

"Ken! Is it really you?!"

Ken nearly got toppled over. "Yes, it's me. Wow! You've really grown up!"

Rosa looked up and gave Ken a seductive glance. "So have you."

TK knew what this would lead to. And sure enough, he looked at Yolei and saw that she wasn't liking this girl's amorous tone.

Yolei cleared her throat. "Excuse me, but who…?"

Wormmon raised his head from the drawer. "Rosa!"

Rosa beamed. "¡Gusano!"

"It's been such a long time! How have you been?"

Davis scratched his head. "Does someone want to tell us what's going on?"

Yolei glared a hole into Ken. "Yes, Ken. Why don't you tell us what's going on?"

Ken sweatdropped. "Rosa? You want to tell this story?"

Rosa walked Ken over to his bed. Ken sat on the bed and Rosa jumped up and sat next to him, practically knocking Yolei over.

"I'd be more than happy to. Ken and I met seven years ago…"

****GRRRRRRRR****

Rosa stopped in her tracks and everyone stared at Davis.

Davis sweatdropped. "Uh…I guess I'm pretty hungry."

"Then we should talk about Rosa and Ken over dinner," TK grinned. "Shall we?"

Yolei got up and headed for the door, making sure to shoot Ken one more glare. "I can hardly wait."

Davis followed right behind Yolei and Cody walked out behind them. TK was heading out, but not before he leaned near Ken's ear.

"And you were asking me about MY past with another girl?" he smirked.

Rosa got to her feet and led Ken out by the hand. "Come on, Ken. I'm sure we have LOTS to talk about."

TK chuckled. It looked like things were about to get interesting. Especially knowing Yolei…

* * *

Puppetmon was starting to get impatient. He wanted to start playing his sinister games, but Datamon insisted on them taking things slowly, at least until they made contact with The Dark One. So Puppetmon waited as Datamon prepared another one of his machines, which was adjusted to The Dark One's frequency. It was a large supercomputer with a giant monitor.

And sure enough, Datamon made contact. On the supercomputer's huge monitor, there was a shadowy figure surrounded by darkness. Puppetmon couldn't see anything more than a shadow. One thing about The Dark One was that he was apparently VERY hesitant about revealing his identity…for the moment.

"I see you haven't gone anywhere," Datamon began. "Nice to see you're still around."

"Enough of your banter," The Dark One bellowed. "Has that Digimon Empress begun using the Black Gears?"

"The Black Gears are a complete success," Datamon reported proudly. "I knew I could recreate Devimon's technology. Of course, with my superior intellect, I'm not surprised."

"So does this mean we have an army of Digimon ready to send to the human world?" The Dark One asked.

"Dozens of Digimon are at our disposal and ready to do our bidding," Datamon answered. "Thanks to my new Digital Field generator, I can make a small Digital Field, large enough to fit one Digimon to send to the human world. The only downside to it is that I can only send one Digimon at a time and it takes days to get the stupid thing operational again."

"I don't understand why we can't just go in ourselves," Puppetmon whined. "I wanna play NOW!"

"You'll have to excuse Puppetmon, Dark One. He's being childish because he has no patience."

"I am not the most patient one you'll encounter," The Dark One shot back. "I came to you, Datamon, because you are the very definition of the term 'evil genius' and you have the means to release me into the human world where I shall proceed to take over BOTH worlds. And Puppetmon, you are here because you know how to deal with our main opposition. And also because you know about manipulating and pulling strings…as is the case with The Digimon Empress. You two were best suited for this task. Now how long will it take you to release me? I am in a destructive mood!"

"Unfortunately, it will not be an easy process," Datamon replied. "I can create a machine to open a portal to…where did you say you were again?"

"The Dark Ocean!"

"Ooh, The Dark Ocean," Datamon muttered. "The Dark Ocean is one of the most mysterious domains in all of existence. To set a frequency there would be extremely difficult…but not impossible if I have the proper components. I will get to work immediately on a device that will bring you back. But in the meantime, we'll give the humans a welcoming committee…and hopefully thin out some of those infernal DigiDestined in the process."

"Remember our agreement," The Dark One warned. "You can destroy the rest of the DigiDestined, but the holder of the Crest of Light must stay ALIVE! When I get there, she is to be unharmed."

Puppetmon didn't understand that. He wanted to destroy ALL the DigiDestined, but for some odd reason, The Dark One wanted the Child of Light alive.

"And you remember OUR agreement," Puppetmon responded. "I get to wipe out that little snot, TK, myself. I'll teach him not to play with Puppetmon! And don't forget that once you take over, I get all the humans in Japan to be MY personal playmates."

"That's right," Datamon added. "And remember what you promised ME. Once you take over, you shall make me your second in command and I shall go down in history as the most intelligent being in all worlds!"

"I haven't forgotten our deal," The Dark One said dryly. "You shall have those rewards and more once I become the ruler of both worlds. But first, hold up your ends of the bargain and release me!"

Suddenly and without warning, the feed died and the monitor went blank. The Dark One had signed off.

"So NOW can we start playing?" Puppetmon whined.

"We can't send just ANY Digimon onto the battlefield," Datamon pointed out. "We must find a suitable candidate. And for that…let us go into the depths of our base."

Puppetmon laughed wildly. "It's almost playtime!"

Eager Puppetmon jumped out of his chair and headed straight for the lower chamber of the Server base. He wanted to pick a particularly destructive Digimon to send to the human world.

* * *

Terriermon sighed. "You know something, big guy? Maybe it's not so bad having you here. I mean, when Henry and Takato are out, I need SOMEONE to talk to."

"I feel the same way," Guilmon agreed. "I'm starving. How long have they been gone, Terriermon?"

Terriermon shook his head. "They've been gone for five minutes! Does the phrase 'momentai' mean anything to you?"

"Not when it comes to food," Guilmon grinned.

Terriermon couldn't believe his hungry friend. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to check the window and see if anyone was coming back. So he walked over to the window and looked outside. But he didn't see Henry or Takato.

Instead he saw another group of guys…including Ken, TK, and that goof, Davis. They were out of their room. And then he remembered what he was supposed to do.

It was time for the prank.

Terriermon rushed over and grabbed a small folded up banner and went back to the window. He opened the window and was about to jump out.

"Terriermon, where are you going?" Guilmon asked curiously. "I don't think Henry would want you to leave."

"Uh…this won't take long," Terriermon said. "I just have…something I have to do. Be right back."

Terriermon jumped out the window, landing behind the hedge outside the windowsill. And Terriermon headed down the path…towards Davis's window.

It was time for Terriermon to pull his first college prank.

  


Next Time: Terriermon's ready to become a prankster! But what he doesn't know is that he's about to meet some resistance…in the forms of Veemon, Wormmon, and Patamon. Kari gets back to her room after her first day of class…but it about to be in the midst of an intense interrogation from Rika and Jeri, who are a little curious about her love life. Davis, TK, Cody, and Yolei get to hear about the time Ken met Rosa and hear about her life since then. What happens when TK has an unexpected meeting with Catherine? And Puppetmon and Datamon choose their first minion to send into the real world. Things begin to intensify on the next Digimon: The College Years!

  


Any comments? Then mail me at AmericanCaptor@hotmail.com and don't forget to review below!


	6. Terriermon: Original Prankster

Last Week: We got a look at the first day of classes. A lot of our characters met for the first time ever…while some characters had the shock of their lives. Kazu and Kenta were a little more than distressed to see that Miss Asaji has returned…as their History professor. Takato was more than surprised to see Yamaki as his College Writing professor. And Talley Onodera, going undercover as a Computer Science professor, was surprised to get a Teacher's Aide, some guy by the name of Izzy Izumi. We also got a meeting of the old DigiDestined (minus Tai), where Matt proposed that it was time for the Digimon to come out into the open. That suggestion was promptly refused by the others…except for Sora. Cody met up with his friends at the university, but had an unexpected tagalong named Rosa, who immediately recognized Ken…much to the chagrin of one Yolei Inoue. As everyone went to dinner, Terriermon noticed that defenses were down and he headed off to commit his first college prank. And finally, we met The Dark One, a being from The Dark Ocean, looking to create chaos in the real world.

  


**Digimon: The College Years**

Episode 6- Terriermon: Original Prankster

  


The day continued to pass by quickly and Yamaki saw he wasn't making as much progress as he had hoped. In Odaiba University's teacher's lounge, he decided to go meet up with the rest of his colleagues and see if they had made any breakthroughs. And sure enough, he looked over at a nearby table and saw Riley and Talley both sitting there looking around.

Yamaki walked over to them. "Professor Ootori, Professor Onodera, how'd your first day go?"

"Very well," Riley responded. "The students show a lot of enthusiasm."

"I like my class," Talley smiled. "It's small. Nice and quaint. And…I have a Teacher's Aide."

"You get a TA?" Riley asked in shock. She crossed her arms and scowled. "I don't get a TA."

"He seems to show a lot of enthusiasm," Talley added. "But the most shocking thing happened! I started taking roll and I came across a couple of very interesting names. I came across Henry Wong and Kenta Kitagawa."

"Two of the Tamers?" Riley asked.

"I also have one of the Tamers in my class," Yamaki said. "Takato Matsuki is in my 8 o'clock College Writing class."

"You think they know anything about what's going on?" Talley wondered.

"This could all be a coincidence," Yamaki thought. "I'm not sure if they're aware of what's happening and I don't want to ask."

"Why not? They might be able to help us," Riley pointed out.

"I don't want to resort to using them yet," Yamaki shot back. "The Tamers can be powerful allies, but we don't even know what it is we're up against. Besides, I think we can flush out this mole ourselves. Any leads?"

Riley and Talley shook their heads.

Yamaki raised an eyebrow. "Really? No suspects at all?"

Riley and Talley shook their heads again.

Suddenly, one of the other female professors walked in. "Hello. I haven't seen you three here before. Are you new?"

Yamaki kept his cool, as any agent in his position would. "We're all in our first year. I am Professor Mitsuo Yamaki, English. This is Professor Talley Onodera, Computer Science. And this is Professor Riley Ootori, Chemistry."

The woman smiled. "My name is Dr. Ana Marquez, Mathematics. It's very nice to meet you."

"Very nice meeting you also," Yamaki replied. He decided to try and get some information as long as he was conversing with one of the other professors. "We weren't sure what to expect when we got here. We heard that there was some…unusual activity here on this campus."

"Why would you think that?" Dr. Marquez asked curiously. "I've never heard that."

"Just a rumor," Yamaki said casually. "You haven't seen anything unusual, have you?"

"I have not," Dr. Marquez answered. "This is a pretty normal campus, so I don't know why you'd think there's something unusual. But then again, if life has taught me anything, it's that sometimes strange things happen. It's always best to expect the unexpected, because ANYTHING can happen."

There was something about this woman's tone that Yamaki was unsure of. The way she said that was…strange…and suspicious.

"Oh, I lost track of time!" Dr. Marquez said hastily. "I would love to stay and chat, but I really have to be going. My daughter will be here shortly. In fact, she might be here by now. But it was nice meeting you."

With that, Dr. Marquez dashed off, leaving the undercover Hypnos crew alone at the table. Yamaki didn't take his eyes off her.

"Why are you looking at her like that?" Riley asked, with a subtle tone of jealousy.

Yamaki fumbled with his lighter again. "There's something suspicious about that woman. I think we have our first suspect."

"A professor?" Talley asked skeptically. "I was thinking more along the lines of a student."

"We don't know how old our mole is," Yamaki pointed out. "Age was never specified. So be ready for anything. ANYONE could become a suspect at any time."

Yamaki would keep that thought in mind as the year rolled on. He wasn't sure about a lot of things on this mission, but he was positive about one thing.

He would flush out this mole.

* * *

Kari was hoping to get a look at the boys' room, but with the complication of Gatomon, she couldn't go the night before. Now was an even worse time, since she now had her first homework assignments. So all she could do was head straight up the stairs of her hall. While she was going up, though, she was practically knocked over by Matt, who was dragging Sora down like there was no tomorrow.

"Excuse me, Kari!"

Sora frantically tried to keep pace. "Matt! Slow down! You almost knocked me over!"

"Sorry, Sora! Just try to keep up!"

Kari shook her head and stayed silent. It was almost as if Matt was expecting some action. Of course…Sora wasn't that kind of girl, so it didn't look like he'd get anywhere. After that pleasant exchange, Kari continued up the stairs and walked back to her room.

After turning the key, Kari walked into her room and found it empty at first. But as she stepped inside, she heard someone shut the door behind her. Kari turned around to see Jeri and Rika both standing side-by-side…with smirks on their faces.

Kari sweatdropped. "You two look happy."

"Have a seat, Kari," Rika grinned as she sat Kari down on her bed. "We have some…things we want to ask you. Things about yourself."

"But…I thought I told you a lot about myself," Kari said nervously.

"Oh you've said a lot," Rika said dryly. "Almost TOO much for my tastes. But there're still some things we want to ask you. Certain things…personal things."

Kari gulped as Jeri turned out the lights. Rika walked over and turned on one of the lamps, focusing the light on Kari. Kari felt like she was about to be interrogated…heavily. But about what, she had no idea. At first, she wondered if they had somehow discovered her secret, but that notion was just silly. How could they possibly find out she was a DigiDestined?

Kari sweatdropped. "Um…what do you want to ask me about?"

"We're curious about…your love life," Rika smirked.

Kari moaned. She would have rather they found out she was a DigiDestined. This was ten times worse. And it would only get more horrible if they pried…into her past.

"So…who was that I saw with you with in the cafeteria, Kari?" Jeri asked slyly. "Boyfriend?"

Kari gulped. "Boyfriend? No…he's not my boyfriend."

Technically, it was true. Kari had just agreed to go out with Davis on a date. She never said anything about him being her boyfriend. Besides…she was still getting over…TK.

"You looked like you were getting pretty close," Jeri persisted. "He looked like he was ready to put his arm around you."

"That's just the way he is," Kari said dryly. "He's…affectionate."

"So tell me about him," Jeri continued. "If he's not your boyfriend, then does that mean he's available?"

"NO!" Kari snapped. She may not have been his girlfriend, but that didn't mean Davis was available. "We're…actually going out on a date this Friday."

Jeri squealed. "You must be so excited! I mean…he certainly looks VERY cute."

Kari blushed. "Well…he IS pretty cute."

"Jeri!" Rika growled. "What's with this sudden interest in Kari's boyfriend? I thought you were with goggle boy!"

Jeri blinked. "Me and Takato? Well…not really. Don't get me wrong. He's a great guy…but…"

"Let me guess," Kari cut in. "You don't want to ruin the friendship?"

Jeri nodded. "Exactly. Hey, how did you know that's what I was thinking?"

"Because I've gone through the same thing myself," Kari answered. "I know what you're going through, Jeri. This sort of thing is never easy."

"You could have fooled me," Rika scoffed. "You look like you're handling your love life like a pro."

"Don't mind her," Jeri said gently. "Rika isn't really the romantic type. She isn't really into the idea of a boyfriend. Unless…well…there may be ONE boy…MMPH!"

Rika covered Jeri's mouth. "If you know what's good for you, you WON'T mention his name! I mean it, Jeri! I don't want to hear about HIM!"

Having issued her warning, Rika uncovered Jeri's mouth and walked towards her bed. Jeri silently mouthed the word "later" to Kari. Kari started to sense that Rika definitely had issues with a boy.

"I thought we were grilling KARI!" Rika pointed out. "How did this get turned around on me?"

"Why are you two grilling ME?" Kari asked curiously.

"Because we're curious about your love life, Kari," Jeri grinned. "And it just got a little more interesting. What do you mean when you say you've been through the same thing I have?"

Kari sighed deeply. This was sure to open up old wounds. "I hope you guys have a lot of time on your hands, because this is a very long story."

"Wow…this is sounding pretty interesting," Jeri muttered. "I can't help but be a little curious."

"Save your curiosity for right now," Kari said dryly. "Maybe I can help you do that."

"How are you doing that?" Jeri asked curiously.

"By changing the subject…to you and your friend, Takato," Kari grinned.

Jeri gulped and Rika couldn't help but smirk. Now the tables were turning again. Rika suddenly shifted the lamp's light so it was shining on Jeri. Jeri looked like a deer caught in the headlights.

"Yes, Jeri," Rika chirped. "Why don't you tell Kari about you and Takato?"

"Because Takato ISN'T my boyfriend!" Jeri snapped.

"I've seen that look before," Kari noted. "He may not be your boyfriend, but you like him, don't you?"

"No!"

"Has this sort of thing ever even come up before?"

Silence. It took Jeri a while to think about that answer, but it looked like she had one and Kari was curious to learn something new about her roommate.

"Well…it was a long time ago…back when we were 13…"

* * *

* * *

Night had fallen on West Shinjuku. Jeri certainly wasn't expecting to be sitting in the park by her friend, Takato, but it looked like the goggle boy was troubled. And Jeri wanted to be there to help.

Takato was hanging his head down. "I've got this problem with my partner…I mean, my friend…my good friend. This friend has gone through a big change lately. I'm talking big change LITERALLY. My friend has grown a lot…and I mean A LOT a lot. And it's caused a whole bunch of problems, so I want things to go back to way they were before. What should I do?"

Jeri didn't know what to think of this. "Takato……hmm…"

Jeri was starting to get an idea of what was going on.

_~* I bet Takato has a crush on a girl, but she got taller. And now he feels goofy next to her, so he wishes she were short again. That's so cute! I know just what he means. That growth spurt I just went through made me feel SO gawky…like everyone was staring… *~_

Suddenly, Jeri figured it all out.

"Wait! I get it!"

Takato turned to Jeri curiously. "Huh? You do?"

Jeri held up her puppet. "Jeri likes you, Takato! But only as a friend, ok?!" She pointed out into the vast street. "Don't worry! There's a MILLION other girls out there!"

Takato hung his head down and sweatdropped. "Uh…yeah…ok…Jeri……thanks."

* * *

* * *

"We haven't talked about it much since then," Jeri continued. "Takato and I have always stayed friends. We've known each other for such a long time now. I wonder if he DOES like me?"

"Have you thought of saying something yourself?" Kari asked.

"Well…I haven't actually thought of that," Jeri answered. "I was hoping Takato would come to ME someday."

"Maybe you need to send some signals," Kari suggested.

"What do you mean?"

"We'll talk about it. If anything, we have the whole year to work on getting you and Takato together. But there's just one thing I need to know."

"What's that?"

"Well…I don't know ANYTHING about Takato. Maybe you should tell me a little more about him and the rest of your friends."

Jeri sat on the bed beside Kari. Both girls put their feet up on the bed and faced each other. Rika just turned away and shook her head, obviously sensing girl talk was imminent.

"Well…ok…I'll tell you about Takato…"

* * *

Looking inside the window, Terriermon knew EXACTLY what to do. This was the triple where that Davis kid was staying, along with his friends TK and Ken. And just as he hoped, the inside of the room was empty. There was no one around. The timing wasn't any better.

So Terriermon carefully opened the window and slowly crawled in. This was still an espionage mission, since anyone could come in at any time. But the beds were pretty big and it looked like the little long-eared Digimon could easily hide if he had to.

Once he was inside, Terriermon immediately spied one of the cabinets. He didn't know which one belonged to Davis, so he would just grab some underwear from each of the three drawers. This was an equal-opportunity prank, so he wouldn't discriminate, even though this was mainly targeting that goof, Davis.

One thing Terriermon DID notice was that this room was a mess. He treaded carefully and headed for the drawer…but he took a wrong step.

"YEOW!!"

The sudden cry of pain completely caught Terriermon off-guard and he fell over. He didn't know where it came from, but it came from underneath a pile of sheets. The long-eared Digimon looked over to see something rise out of the pile of sheets. It was a little blue Digimon about his size with a small horn on his nose and he was holding his tail.

"What's going on?" something else called out.

"What the…?!" Terriermon gasped.

Terriermon looked over at one of the drawers to see a green worm thing come out. It was another Digimon. And when Terriermon looked over towards the window, he saw a third Digimon. This one looked like a winged pig, for lack of a better description.

"Hey! It's a Terriermon!" he shouted.

The little blue Digimon shot Terriermon a cold glare. "GET HIM!!"

To say this was unexpected would be an understatement. Instead of accomplishing a simple prank, Terriermon now found himself…about to be chased. And Terriermon didn't wait, so he started running around the room, with one of his ears knocking the radio switch on.

_Storming through the party like my name was El Nino_

When I'm hanging out drinking in the back of an El Camino

As a kid, was a skid, and no one knew me by name

Trashed my own house party, 'cause nobody came

Terriermon's first instinct was to run towards the door. But as he reached the knob, he started to realize that he could easily be spotted coming out. And that would definitely turn some heads. So he ran over towards his left, but unfortunately found himself cornered.

_Well, I know I'm not the one you thought you knew back in high school_

Never going, never showing up when we had to

Attention that we crave

Don't tell us to behave

I'm sick of always hearing act your age

Terriermon watched as the blue Digimon starting making a beeline right for him. He dove straight forward and tried a tackle, but Terriermon used one of his ears to propel himself upward. The blue Digimon ended up crashing into the wall…and one of the picture frames fell right on top of his head. Terriermon now had his chance to escape.

"Don't let him get away, Patamon!" the little blue Digimon shouted.

_I don't want to waste my time_

Become another casualty of society

I'll never fall in line

Become another victim of your conformity

And back down

Terriermon rolled towards the bed, but found himself running into the winged little pig, Patamon, who cut off his path to safety.

"I got him, Veemon!"

Patamon tried diving forward and Terriermon knew he had to defend himself somehow.

"Terrier Tornado!"

Terriermon unleashed his attack, spinning around and becoming a whirling dervish. Patamon ran right into it and found himself being slammed right on the wall.

_Because you don't know us at all_

We laugh when old people fall

But what would you expect with a conscience so small

Heavy metal and mullets, it's how we were raised

Maiden and Priest were the gods that we praised

Terriermon now thought he actually had a clear path to his only means of escape: the window. But when he tried heading over there, he got jumped by the little blue Digimon called Veemon, who now had a firm grip on Terriermon's arms.

"Do something, Wormmon!" Veemon shouted.

Wormmon leaped out of the drawer and headed for the scene. "I got him, Veemon! Sticky Net!"

_'Cause we like having fun at other peoples' expenses_

Cutting people down is just a minor offence then

It's none of your concern, I guess I'll never learn

I'm sick of being told to wait my turn

Terriermon acted in the blink of an eye. He pounded on Veemon's head with his right ear, loosening his grip. Terriermon was able to get loose and roll out of the way…while Wormmon's Sticky Net attack…ended up hitting Veemon. Veemon now found himself stuck to the wall.

Before heading to the window again, Terriermon armed himself. As he ran to escape, Terriermon knocked Wormmon aside with a hard pillow shot. With all three Digimon temporarily incapacitated, Terriermon was home free. He grabbed his banner and started heading for his only exit. This attempted prank turned out to be a failure.

_I don't want to waste my time_

Become another casualty of society

I'll never fall in line

Become another victim of your conformity

And back down

Terriermon opened the window and looked back one more time. Patamon was still seeing stars from being knocked into the wall. Wormmon was trying to shake off the cobwebs from the pillow shot. And Veemon was struggling to get free; he was still stuck on the wall. There was no better time…for Terriermon to gloat.

The long-eared Digimon waved mockingly. "Momentai, losers! Better luck next time!"

Terriermon jumped out and headed back to his room. He didn't pull the prank like he hoped to, but he had plenty of fun with these other Digimon. But that was just the thing that was eating away at Terriermon.

Those three other guys…were harboring Digimon of their own. Could they also be…Tamers?

* * *

The last thing Veemon expected was for a Digimon to break into their room, much less a Terriermon. But he couldn't stand the humiliation of what just happened. He, Patamon, and Wormmon had worked as a unit for years, yet they couldn't even subdue one single Terriermon. He felt pathetic. And why wouldn't he? He was STUCK TO THE WALL.

"How did a Terriermon get in here?" Wormmon asked curiously.

"Never mind that!" Veemon snapped. "Somebody get me out of here!"

Wormmon quickly jumped on the bed and tried taking out his Sticky Net, which was still pinning Veemon to the wall. Meanwhile, Patamon was still trying to shake off the cobwebs. That Terriermon's attack hit him awfully hard.

But that's when the worst thing happened. Someone started knocking at the door.

"Scatter!" Veemon whispered loudly.

Wormmon plopped off the bed and went into his stuffed animal act. Veemon, who had not yet removed the Sticky Net, just froze and hoped no one would notice he was stuck to the wall. The stuffed animal act wasn't much of a stretch for Patamon at the moment. He was still dizzy and lucky to still be conscious. As the three Digimon went into their stuffed animal charade, the door opened.

"Hello?"

Veemon noticed it was the building's Resident Director, that Ms. Mackenzie lady. She walked in and switched the radio off before looking around. She was obviously suspicious of having heard all the noise coming from the room. And she especially looked suspicious now that she saw…there was no one inside the room.

But it didn't mean she wasn't nosing around. The first thing she noticed…was Patamon, who was lying limp in the corner. Ms. Mackenzie walked over and picked him up. She suddenly went into a staring contest with him. Veemon crossed his fingers, hoping Patamon wouldn't crack.

Ms. Mackenzie blinked. "Hmm…strange little thing."

Having seen everything she could see, Ms. Mackenzie put Patamon down and headed for the door. But she turned her head back once more to look at Patamon. Veemon had to commend Patamon for his nerves of steel.

"Yes…strange," she muttered. Then she smiled. "But I've dealt with strange before in my life. This wouldn't be the first time."

With that, Ms. Mackenzie walked out, leaving the three Digimon alone. Veemon exhaled a loud sigh of relief. The coast was finally clear and now the three Digimon had to think about the real issue at hand.

What was a Terriermon doing in their room? And where did it come from?

* * *

Everyone was calmly having dinner as Rosa went over her past with Ken. Of course, that didn't mean everyone wasn't listening to Rosa's story with huge interest. Yolei, for example, didn't take her eyes off Ken and Rosa, listening intently. Davis wasn't aware of this encounter his best friend had seven years ago when the DigiDestined were traveling the world. Cody couldn't believe that this friend he just made a few weeks ago had a past with one of his friends.

And as for TK, he was just listening with a smirk. After all the questioning Ken was giving him about what happened between him and Catherine, it was nice to see that, even if just for the moment, the tables were turned.

After Rosa finished telling that story, Ken asked the obvious question. "Rosa, when did you leave Mexico?"

Rosa's face fell. "I guess that's kind of a long story, too. Maybe a year after you left, my parents were involved in a car accident. They both died and I was left alone. And it didn't take long for someone to adopt me. But I wasn't happy anymore. Life didn't seem the same to me. And then, one day, my new mother told me she took a job here in Odaiba, so we moved here when I was 14. I guess it was meant to be…because I really needed an opportunity to start fresh."

Ken was surprised to hear all that. "A lot's happened to you. I'm sorry you went through that."

Rosa beamed and leaned on Ken's shoulder. "It's ok, Ken. Ever since I came to Japan, life hasn't been so bad. And today…it just got a lot better."

TK knew what this would spark. And sure enough, when he looked Yolei's way, she looked like she was ready to explode. TK expected her to blow up any minute, but it wasn't happening just yet. She was keeping her composure for the moment.

"Hey! I see my mom!" Rosa said cheerfully.

Rosa got up and walked over to a woman in a black dress and a long white lab coat. TK knew he had seen this woman walking around campus, but he didn't quite recognize her.

Rosa introduced everyone. "Mom, these are my new friends. Well, except for Ken. He's a friend I met in Mexico a long time ago…before I met you."

The woman extended her hand to Ken. "It's nice to meet you all, especially you, Ken. I'm Dr. Marquez, Rosa's mother."

"Hey, now I remember you," TK chimed in. "My friend, Kari, has you for Calculus. My name's TK."

Dr. Marquez smiled. "Check your schedule, TK. You never know, because you just might also have me on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays."

TK sweatdropped. "That could be very true."

"Well, it was very nice seeing you," Dr. Marquez said. "I wish I could stay and get to know you all a little better, but I really should be getting back to my office. Come along, Rosa."

Rosa was about to catch, but she walked over to Ken and gave him a big hug. "Bye Ken! I'm sure I'll see you again. And I can't wait."

Rosa caught up to her mom and they both left. TK took this opportunity to look over at Yolei again. And it looked like she had about all she could take. She picked up her tray and started walking out.

"Yolei? Where are you going?" Ken asked obliviously.

"Back to my room," Yolei huffed. "Give me a call, loverboy."

Ken looked over at Davis. "What was that about?"

"Sometimes I don't understand girls," Davis replied. "Especially Yolei."

"You don't think she's getting jealous, do you?" Cody asked.

"I don't know," Ken said slowly.

TK just watched this whole exchange without saying a word, but suddenly he got a tap on the shoulder.

"Bonjour, TK."

TK turned around and taken by surprise when he saw the beautiful Catherine right in front of him. "Uh…um…hi there."

"I didn't know I just missed Yolei," Catherine sighed. "It's a shame, because I was hoping we could all eat together. But…I'd better catch up to her."

TK couldn't take his eyes off Catherine as she grabbed her bag of food and headed out, following Yolei. But suddenly, she did a 180 and came back to the table.

"You know something, TK? We haven't really had a chance to talk…alone. I'd like to have some time with you to…you know…catch up on old times. You want to get together sometime? Maybe…for dinner?"

TK didn't know how to respond to that. Here was a beautiful girl right in front of him, wanting to get to know him a little better. She was actually asking him out. In some circles, this could be interpreted as a date. He never thought he'd ever have such a girl interested in him. He just wondered what Kari would think. Then he looked across the table and remembered something.

Kari was going out with Davis on Friday night. TK couldn't forget that he and Kari broke up. It didn't matter what she thought. He no longer had to take her into consideration anymore.

"Sure, why not?" TK smiled. "How about this Saturday night?"

Catherine beamed. "I can't wait!" She kissed him on the cheek and started walking away. "I'll see you then, TK."

TK blushed a bright red…and suddenly noticed that the guys had all stopped talking about Ken and Rosa…and were now looking right at him. TK turned his head to see Davis, Ken, and Cody all looking his way…in utter shock.

TK blinked. "What?"

* * *

Tai was finally getting back after doing a lot of thinking. He had cleared his head and he was feeling a lot better. But he still wasn't feeling much younger. As time went on, Tai was wishing he were ten years old again. But he was an ancient…22 years old. Tai was feeling like an old man.

He couldn't shake off the thoughts of aging from his head as he approached his door. Right now, Tai just wanted to get back to his room and get some sleep.

Tai calmly inserted his key and turned the knob. He walked into his room and saw a sight he just didn't need to see at that moment. He saw Matt and Sora…locking lips. They shifted their gaze, with their lips still locked, and looked over at Tai…who was looking on with an exasperated look on his face.

"Do you two mind?" Tai asked dryly.

"The question is 'Do YOU mind?'" Matt smirked.

Sora punched Matt on the shoulder. "Oh, come on! It was ONE kiss. Relax, tiger." Sora got up and walked up to Tai. Tai's best friend had a look of concern on her face. "Tai…Matt told me why you went out? Do you want to talk about it?"

Tai shook his head. "No…I just need…to think about some stuff…alone."

Sora wasn't convinced and kept trying to pry. "Tai…do you really feel……old?"

Tai sighed deeply. "It's not just that I'm getting older. It's……look, just leave me alone for right now, ok? We'll talk later."

Tai didn't even wait for a response, but he headed for his bed. One disadvantage to having a dorm room was that he couldn't go anywhere to be alone. He was lying on his bed, but Matt and Sora were literally inches away.

"Tai, you're being an idiot!" Matt growled.

"I am not!" Tai shot back. "I bet you if I searched my head, I could find a whole bunch of gray hair."

"Tai, we don't have all day," Matt smirked.

Tai slumped down on his bed while Sora punched Matt in the arm.

"OW! Well he asked for it. That joke was RIGHT THERE!"

"Matt, don't you see how serious this is?" Sora chided.

"You think this is SERIOUS?" Matt asked skeptically. "Come on, Sora! He's 22! That's NOT old!"

"But this is obviously bothering him!" Sora pointed out. She walked over to Tai's bed and ran a finger through his poofy hair. "Tai…please talk to me. I'm worried about you. And Matt's worried about you, too."

Matt scoffed, until Sora shot him a VERY cold stare.

"I feel like time's just going by too fast," Tai sighed. "I don't know where my life has gone and where it's going. I'm not a kid anymore…but I wish I was. I want to be young again."

Matt groaned. "Newsflash, Tai! You ARE young!"

Sora tossed a pillow at Matt. "Will you HUSH?!" She refocused on consoling Tai. "Aw Tai…you poor thing. This is really troubling you, isn't it?"

Tai nodded. He was practically in tears. "I…I need to take another walk. Besides…you two probably want to be alone."

Matt perked up. "Ok!"

Sora let out an exasperated sigh. "Tai, don't listen to him. Please don't go. We're worried about you."

"No, Sora, please. I need to be alone."

Tai walked up to the door and walked out without even looking back. He really needed some alone time to think about everything.

* * *

Matt just sat on his bed as Tai walked out. He knew this whole situation was beyond ridiculous and if Tai wanted some time alone to pout, then so be it. He wasn't about to stop him. But to his surprise, when the door closed, Sora turned around and looked angrily at him.

"Some friend YOU are!" Sora spat. "He needs us right now and you aren't doing ANYTHING to help!"

"What?! You can't tell me you're taking this seriously, Sora! He's 22 years old! How can be feeling old right now?!"

Sora just shook her head. "You know, for someone who holds the Crest of Friendship, you aren't being much of a friend right now. Goodbye, Matt."

Matt got to his feet. "Sora, wait!"

Sora didn't listen. She just walked out the door and slammed it behind her. Matt just threw his hands in the air, unable to make any sense of this. It's like the world was going crazy.

"What did *I* do?!"

* * *

Terriermon rushed back to his room as fast as he could and jumped in through the open window. He shut the window and the curtains, panting exhaustedly the whole time.

"Terriermon?"

"AAH!"

Terriermon was startled when he heard a voice. But he turned around to see that it was only Guilmon. Terriermon jumped off Henry's bed and ran up to the big red lizard.

"What's the matter, Terriermon?" Guilmon asked. "You looked like you've seen a ghost."

Terriermon tried to compose himself. "D-D-D-Digimon! There are DIGIMON here!"

"What are you talking about? Terriermon, where did you go?"

"Those three guys are Tamers! That TK…and that Ken…and that goof, Davis! They're TAMERS! They had Digimon in their room!"

"How do you know?"

"Because I saw them! I was in their room! There were three of them!" "Terriermon, what were you doing in their room?"

Terriermon frowned. "Are you just going to stand there and give me the third degree? Don't you understand what I'm saying? There are OTHER DIGIMON here!"

"What should we tell Takato and Henry?" Guilmon asked.

"We can't tell them anything right now," Terriermon pointed out. "We have to wait until the come back. But I hope they come back soon."

As if on cue, the front door opened. Henry and Takato both walked in and Terriermon wasted no time in running up to them.

"Henry! Henry! I have to tell you something!"

Henry instantly grew concerned with the urgency in his partner's voice. "What is it?"

Terriermon led Henry to his bed. "Sit down for this one…"

* * *

After leaving Rosa with her mom, the group started thinning out. Cody needed to get back home, so he left. Yolei went back to her room with Catherine right behind her, still looking a little miffed at this day's turn of events. That left Davis with his two roommates, Ken and TK. Ken wouldn't stop questioning TK about what happened in The Den while Davis just stayed silent. Davis could imagine why this would bother Ken, but it didn't bother him at all.. After all, it was Davis who was going out with Kari now. Ken just needed some more time for that to sink in. TK needed to move on and there was no time like the present. Especially with someone as attractive as Catherine. Davis felt happy for him.

Finally, they got to their room. Davis had the key and once he opened the door, he walked in to see that the room was practically in shambles. It looked like a tornado had hit.

Davis turned to TK. "TK, please close the door."

TK closed the door. Once the door was closed…

"VEEMON!"

"Over here, Davish."

Davis heard Veemon calling him, so he walked over and saw that the little blue Digimon…was stuck to the wall. He had a net keeping him attached to the wall. Davis knelt down and pulled the net off, loosening Veemon.

"Ooh, thanks Davish."

"Veemon, what happened?"

Veemon didn't even get to give an answer before Patamon flew over to TK.

"TK! There was a Digimon in here! A Terriermon!"

"He just busted in here through the window and stepped on Veemon's tail," Wormmon added. "He was too fast for us, Ken. He got away."

"How could a Terriermon get in here?" Ken asked Davis and TK.

"I have no idea," TK replied. "How and WHY would a Terriermon come in through our window?"

"Maybe someone's seen him," Davis thought. "Why don't we go ask around?"

"And what are we supposed to say?" TK pointed out. "Hey, have you seen a walking dog-rabbit thing around?"

"Now wait, TK, maybe that IS a good idea," Ken said. "We can ask some of the others if they've seen anything weird."

"I just feel a little silly asking around," TK noted. "But if we're going to ask, let's start with Takato and Henry. I think the rest of the hall's out to dinner anyway."

"TK, let me come, too!" Patamon pleaded. "If you set me by the window, maybe I can find it."

TK was about to refuse. "Patamon…"

"Hey, that's a good idea," Veemon cut in. "And Wormmon and I can guard the dorm in case he comes back."

"It's not a bad idea, TK," Davis added. "Let's take Patamon with us and see if he finds anything."

TK begrudgingly gave in. "Ok, but you have to stay still, Patamon. If you see that Terriermon just wink at me or something."

Patamon perched himself on TK's shoulder. Davis was expecting to start on his homework at this hour, but it looked like that wouldn't happen right now. Now the three guys went on a hunt for a Terriermon and it was time to ask questions. And first they would ask…Takato and Henry.

Davis sweatdropped. "Uh, TK? Maybe I should let YOU open the door."

* * *

Terriermon panted after giving his long-winded explanation. "And that's the story. There are three other Digimon here and they belong to those guys. TK, Ken, and Davis are Tamers!"

"But it can't be," Takato said skeptically. "There were only EIGHT Tamers total. And I thought they hadn't heard of Digimon out here in Odaiba."

"But what if they were lying?" Henry pointed out. "What if there ARE other Tamers out here? For all we know, one or two of them might have been responsible for the Highton View Terrace incident." Henry suddenly shifted his gaze to Terriermon. "But I just have one question, Terriermon. Why were you in their room to begin with?"

Terriermon sweatdropped. If he told Henry the truth, he'd be busted for sure. Henry would NOT be happy if he found out Terriermon had gone out to pull a prank. But there was no hiding it anymore. For one thing, he couldn't think of a good lie. So there was no use attempting to hide it.

"Well…the thing is…"

But before Terriermon could confess, someone knocked on the door. "Takato? Henry? It's me, Davis."

Terriermon ran over to the window and froze like a stuffed animal. Guilmon headed over towards the closet and went into his stuffed animal act. And Takato…instinctively stood clear of the door.

"Ok, NOW you can open the door," Takato grinned.

Terriermon wished he could turn around and face the doorway and see these Tamers, but he was stuck facing the wall. If he turned his head, he would expose himself. So Terriermon stayed frozen…and hoped for the best.

* * *

Patamon was stuck on TK's shoulder, but not for too long. TK walked over to the windowsill and placed the little Digimon on the nearby bed. And with that, the guys were ready to begin some questioning.

"So how did your first day of class go?" TK asked, starting everything off with some small talk.

"Just a load of homework," Henry said almost nervously.

"Yeah, you should know all about it, right Davis?" Takato added. "After all, we got the same College Writing class."

"Oh yeah," Davis replied. "A whole load."

"You know, we came here because…of a rumor," Ken began. "Did you guys here of a little creature running around campus? It has long ears, kinda looks like a dog but has ears like a rabbit?"

"Oh…uh…no," Henry said slowly. "That sounds…kinda silly. How would a thing like THAT get on this campus?"

Patamon knew the guys were getting into their interrogation, but it all turned out to be unnecessary. His eyes widened when he saw that the Terriermon in question…was standing right by the windowsill facing the wall. Patamon knew TK wanted him to stay perfectly still, but he couldn't forget that this Terriermon knocked him silly with his Terrier Tornado attack. Patamon wanted some payback and there was no better time to get it. So while TK, Davis, and Ken were still asking questions, Patamon slowly crept over towards the Terriermon. The Terriermon had his back turned and didn't hear Patamon coming at all. And once Patamon was so close to him…so close that he was practically breathing down his neck…he inhaled deeply and…

"BOOM BUBBLE!"

Patamon unleashed his Boom Bubble attack. The long burst of wind sent the screaming Terriermon crashing right into the wall. The Terriermon staggered around dizzily, fell over, and lost consciousness.

Henry suddenly gasped. "Terriermon!"

Henry ran over to the Terriermon's aid, but things didn't end there. Patamon turned around and suddenly saw that the big red lizard stuffed animal in the corner came to life. It wasn't a stuffed animal at all. It was also a Digimon. It growled furiously and inhaled deeply, getting ready to attack Patamon. Takato gasped and ran towards the big red lizard.

"Guilmon, NO!"

Takato tackled the lizard, known as Guilmon, and both fell to the ground. Patamon realized that he had nearly been attacked…and in a matter of seconds…

…EVERYTHING changed.

Everyone stayed silent…and everyone looked at each other. Davis looked at Takato, then at Guilmon. TK and Ken looked at Henry, then at the unconscious Terriermon in his arms. Henry looked over at TK, then at Patamon. Takato looked up at Patamon, then at Henry. And then…someone else came through the hall.

"What's going on here?"

Silence. Everyone slowly turned their heads towards the door and soon they all had their eyes on the guy at the door. No one dared break that silence…except for Patamon, who waved cheerfully.

"Hey Tai!"

Tai Kamiya looked inside the room…and sweatdropped. "I'm getting too old for this."

* * *

Impmon sat by the sidewalk. He wanted to keep going, but there was one thing holding him back.

"I'm tired, Impmon. Are we almost there?"

Impmon turned around to see that Calumon had stopped walking and sat down to rest his weary legs. Impmon sighed and walked over to the little one.

"We can't stop here, Calumon," Impmon told him. "Will you look around? We're in the middle of nowhere."

It was true. Impmon and Calumon were standing in the middle of an open road. There was nothing surrounding them except for dirt. But Impmon had a feeling that this would lead them to the place they were looking for. He didn't know for sure, but either way, even if he didn't find the right place, at least it'd be a chance to start a new life.

Suddenly, Impmon noticed a pickup truck that was pulled over to the side of the road. A large man was on the payphone next to it.

"Yeah, I get everything you need. **…** Uh-huh. **…** Yeah, I should in Odaiba by tomorrow morning. **…** Absolutely! You just have my money ready."

A light bulb lit up over the mischievous Impmon's head. He grabbed Calumon by the hand and started running towards the truck.

"Come on, Calumon! We're hitching a ride!"

Impmon picked Calumon up and tossed him in the back of the pickup. Impmon climbed over and got inside the truck as well. A few seconds later, he could feel the truck was starting and soon enough, the truck was moving.

"So where are we going, Impmon?" Calumon asked.

"I'm hoping this truck will get us to the right place," Impmon said. Then he flashed a mischievous grin. "And if it does…then we're gonna have LOADS of fun!"

  


Next Week: The boys and their Digimon have been exposed…at least to Tai, anyway. What will Tai do with this latest development? Meanwhile, the girls have managed to hide their Digimon from each other, but will that change…when Renamon and Gatomon have an impromptu rematch? Things get heated next week. Will the RA's be able to keep things somewhat sane? Find out on the next Digimon: The College Years!

  


Any comments? Then mail me at AmericanCaptor@hotmail.com and don't forget to review below!


	7. Precious Memories

Last Week: Rika and Jeri tried to learn about Kari's love life through an intense interrogation, but it somehow ended up getting turned around on Jeri. Tai's still feeling uncomfortable about aging and despite Sora trying to comfort him, he walked out to take a walk…even though he didn't get too far. Cody dropped by with a friend named Rosa…who just happens to be the same Rosa that Ken met seven years ago, leaving Yolei a little more than curious. In fact, she's looking a little jealous! Rosa revealed what's happened in her life these past seven years while TK met up with Catherine again…and accepted a date with her! But while the DigiDestined were out to lunch, Terriermon went out to commit his first college prank. Unfortunately, he met unexpected resistance from the tandem of Veemon, Patamon, and Wormmon. Terriermon managed to escape and immediately went back to tell Guilmon. Veemon, Patamon, and Wormmon also reported what went down and that got Davis, TK, and Ken (along with Patamon) asking around…starting with Henry and Takato. While they got their questions asked, Patamon saw Terriermon on the windowsill. Craving immediate revenge, Patamon blasted him with a Boom Bubble attack and was nearly attacked by Guilmon as a result. As the boys discovered each others' secret, Tai just happened to walk by…and see the chaotic scene. Anything else happen? Why, yes! Impmon and Calumon are still on their way!

  


**Digimon: The College Years**

Episode 7- Precious Memories

  


Tai couldn't believe what he was seeing. He was looking into a room with five guys and Patamon, yet that wasn't all. That Henry guy had a fainted Digimon in his arms and that Takato guy was holding down a big red lizard. To say this was shocking would be an understatement.

"Does anybody want to say anything?" Tai asked the whole group.

"Um…this isn't what it looks like?" Davis grinned.

TK just shook his head and kept his mouth shut. Patamon calmly flew over into his arms.

Tai closed his eyes and tried to think of a way to deal with this unexpected situation. There was so much he wanted to know about these kids…yet he couldn't just come out and ask. Not without some of the others present.

"Ok, you guys sit tight," Tai said. "I'll be right back. DON'T go anywhere…and don't let those Digimon go anywhere."

Tai shut the door and headed back to his room. Wait 'til Matt heard about this!

* * *

After the initial shock wore off, TK was ready to ask the big question.

"You guys have Digimon?"

But TK and Henry both asked that question at the same time, so there was a moment of silence. They didn't know what to say. So it was Takato who asked the next question.

"That Digimon in your arms…then it's true! Does that mean you guys are…Tamers?"

Davis blinked. "Tamers? What's a Tamer?"

"If you have a Digimon, then you HAVE to be a Tamer."

"Not unless we're DigiDestined," Davis replied. "Are YOU GUYS DigiDestined?"

"DigiDestined?" both Takato and Henry repeated.

Takato looked over at Henry. "I've heard of DigiDestined!"

"But I didn't think they were real," Henry responded. "I thought those were just stories. Does this mean…DigiDestined are real?"

"Maybe you guys can answer some of our questions," Ken cut in. "What's a Tamer?"

Takato looked over at Henry again. "How are we going to explain all this?"

The red lizard suddenly spoke up. "I'm sure you'll think of something, Takato. But as long as I'm not hiding anymore, I'm hungry."

The Terriermon suddenly started moaning. He opened his eyes. "Henry? I feel like I got hit by a truck. What happened?" He then looked around to see TK, Davis, Ken, and Patamon. "Uh oh!"

"That's for throwing me into the wall!" Patamon cried. "Payback's a…"

"PATAMON!" TK snapped before Patamon even finished. "What have I told you about that word?"

"Sorry, TK."

The Terriermon didn't look happy. "Payback?! You hit me from behind, you little pig! You want to come down here and try that to my face?!"

"I'd be glad to!" Patamon huffed.

The Terriermon leaped onto his feet and Patamon flew down. Both Digimon were in each other's face, snarling as they tried to stare each other down. The tension was so thick, it could be cut with a knife. TK knew he had to stop this, so he went over to pick up Patamon. Henry picked up his Terriermon as well.

"Let me go, Henry!" the Terriermon growled. "I can take him!"

"Let me at him, TK!" Patamon cried. "I'll show him who the pig is!"

TK held onto Patamon as tightly as he could. Then he and Henry exchanged a troubled and confused glance.

TK summed it all up. "I guess there are some things we DON'T know about each other."

* * *

Tai rushed back to his room. He opened the door and noticed the only one there was Matt, who was scowling on his bed.

"Well if it isn't the senior citizen," Matt muttered bitingly. "I hope you know that Sora left because of you, Tai. What do you want now? You want to check for wrinkles?"

"Hmm…good point. I'll do that later," Tai answered. "Matt…we have a situation. Call Izzy and Joe. We need them here."

"What for? What happened?"

"Matt, maybe you should sit down for this one."

"Tai, I AM sitting down."

"Ok good. Matt…RA…we have Digimon here."

"Of course we have Digimon here. Didn't TK, Davis, and Ken bring theirs?"

Tai shook his head. "No, Matt. I mean…we have DIGIMON here."

Silence.

Matt suddenly realized what Tai was saying. "WHAT?!"

Tai reached over and handed the phone to Matt. "Call…Izzy and Joe! I have an idea. Wait here while I go get Sora and Mimi."

While Matt just held the phone up with a puzzled look on his face, Tai ran out of the room and headed for the stairs. The girls needed to know about this too.

* * *

After about an hour of conversation, Kari felt like she and Jeri were really beginning to connect. And Kari liked hearing about Jeri and Rika's friends. In particular, the whole past Jeri and Takato seemed to have shared was really intriguing. Kari felt like she could relate.

"So do you think you'll tell him how you feel?" Kari asked.

"I think you're right, Kari," Jeri sighed. "Maybe it's better if I don't ruin the friendship right now. I should probably take it slow."

"That's usually the best thing," Kari smiled. "You have all year, Jeri. And take it from someone with personal experience, the best things come to those who wait."

"Ahem…" Rika cut in. "Speaking of personal experience…Jeri, I believe somewhere along the way, you completely lost the point of this whole interrogation. We were supposed to be grilling KARI, not YOU!"

Jeri thought about that. "You know, I believe you're right. Kari, we meant to ask about YOUR love life."

Kari blinked. "Well…what do you want to know?"

"Just how far along are you and Davis?" Jeri asked.

"He's not my boyfriend or anything. We're just going out on a date tomorrow night."

"So I'm guessing you don't like him in that way?" Jeri guessed.

Kari briefly hesitated. "I'm…not sure. He's a very sweet guy and he's just got this…certain charm. I'm not really sure WHAT my feelings for him are. I'm hoping things will be a little clearer after tomorrow night."

"Has he always been a total klutz?" Rika asked.

Kari sweatdropped. "I wouldn't say TOTAL klutz. He may not be the smartest guy in the world, not by a long shot. But he's a great guy. He just…tends to be a little clumsy."

"Takato tells me Davis has had about five or six accidents with him," Jeri pointed out.

Kari sweatdropped again. "Ok, he can be VERY clumsy. But that's just his way. He doesn't mean anything by it. I've known him for most of my life and I can tell you that he has a good heart."

"Oh, I get it," Rika said. "You and Davis have the same thing Jeri and Takato have. I'm guessing you two only have eyes for each other?"

Kari frowned. "Actually…no. There's…someone else. Well…there WAS someone else."

"Who's that?" Jeri asked curiously.

"One of my dearest friends," Kari replied. "His name's TK."

Jeri gasped. "I just met TK today. He seems like such a nice guy."

Kari nodded. "He really is. You know, the funny thing is that Davis and TK are really good friends right now…but it didn't ALWAYS used to be that way. Back when I was 12, they would both compete for my affections. They both wanted to have my heart. And although they were friends back then, whenever it came to me…it was war. And they would…and often DID just about ANYTHING…no matter how insane."

Rika inched her chair closer. "Ok, NOW things are getting interesting. Tell us everything."

"Yeah, we're curious, Kari," Jeri added.

Kari sweatdropped a third time. Never in her life did she ever think she would be telling anybody those crazy stories of Davis and TK competing for her heart. But Rika and Jeri seemed legitimately intrigued.

Kari sighed. "Well…"

* * *

* * *

_I remember what happened around Christmastime when I was 12*****. I've got to admit, I wasn't into Davis that much. In fact, I used to think he was pretty obnoxious. But I'll say this much. He was persistent…and creative. I remember what happened when I walked into the coffee shop that day…_

Kari walked into the coffee shop, but found the one person she hoped she wouldn't find. There was Davis and he still had that mistletoe hanging over his head. Davis started coming her way while Kari could only try to escape. She turned and tried to open the door, but she was stumbling over herself. She couldn't get the door open. And soon, it was too late. Davis was right behind her with a big grin on his face.

"Hey, Kari!"

Kari turned to face him. "Oh…hi Davis."

"So…I know the holidays are coming up. Notice anything…on my head?"

Kari looked up…and smiled "What? A bent coat hanger?"

Davis looked up…and frowned. "My mistletoe! Where is it? It's GOOOOOOOONE!!!"

Kari giggled. "Davis, you weren't actually crazy enough to walk around town with a mistletoe hanging over your head, were you?"

Davis blinked. "Maybe. But now it's LOST! NOOOOOOOOO!!!"

Kari grinned. "Better luck next time."

Davis looked disappointed that he didn't get to kiss Kari under the mistletoe. Kari was just relieved and was still surprised at his brashness. Suddenly, it looked like Davis had an idea. In the blink of an eye, he ran out of the coffee shop. Kari giggled, knowing that the gears in his twisted head were probably turning again. But now that she dodged this bullet, she walked over to TK, who was waiting for her by one of the tables.

"Are you telling me he came in here not knowing he lost his mistletoe?" Kari asked.

"Not exactly," TK answered. "He had it when he came in. But he just lost it."

"How could he just lose it?" Kari wondered.

She pondered that while TK got behind her.

"Maybe someone just picked it off his head."

Kari suddenly realized something. She looked above her…and saw a mistletoe. It was Davis's mistletoe…and TK was holding it above them. Kari turned around and saw TK smiling warmly.

TK blushed nervously. "Sometimes I LOVE Christmas tradition."

Kari blushed a crimson red…before giving TK a kiss on the lips. "Me, too."

TK looked like he just melted. He blushed a rosy red and a huge smile spread on his face. Kari smiled, too. If there was anyone she was willing to give that kiss to, it was TK.

* * *

* * *

Jeri squealed. "So was that your first kiss, Kari?"

"Well, not really," Kari replied. "I don't consider it to be. It was just a quick peck. But I'll get to my first kiss later. There was a lot more that happened that year…and a lot of it involved both Davis and TK competing for me. You see, around that Christmas, TK just saw and treated me like a friend. But sometime after he and I came back from a vacation******, TK began to want something more than friendship. And that's when it started."

"What?" Rika asked.

Kari sighed. "The war…for me."

* * *

* * *

_A few days after TK and I came back from that vacation, that's when the whole war started…but I was completely oblivious to it. It all started with Christmas Eve*******. And Davis wanted to get a step ahead of TK by pulling a crazy stunt. Boy, I'll never forget THAT night._

Kari was lying in bed, trying to get some sleep. Christmas Eve was going by so slowly and she was just trying to get some sleep. She did feel pretty tired and she couldn't wait for the best day of the year to come. But suddenly…the family's security system went off. Kari sat up in an instant. A bunch of thoughts ran through her head. Was her family being robbed on Christmas Eve?

Kari saw her mom rush out of her room and head for the control panel. Obviously there was no one out there, because Kari's mom was able to turn the security system without incident. Still feeling a little worried, Kari got to her feet and decided to go investigate along with her mother and older brother.

"What was that?" Kari's older brother, Tai, asked.

"Something must have set the alarm off," their mom answered. "That's the second time that alarm's gone off this week. It must be defective or something. I'll have to call the company in the morning."

"Um…is it open on Christmas morning?"

"Oh, that's right. I'll call them AFTER Christmas, then. Let's just go to sleep."

After that false alarm, Kari's mom and Tai began to head off to bed. But Kari suddenly heard a rustling come from outside. She stood still.

"Hey, Kari? Aren't you going to sleep?"

"Um…I'll be right there," Kari answered. "Just go on without me, Tai."

Tai went off to bed. Kari didn't know why she didn't say anything, because she sensed someone WAS outside. So she grabbed a nearby flashlight and walked towards her front door. Still in her pajamas, Kari opened the door and turned on the flashlight, directing it towards the bushes.

"I know someone's out there! Who's out there?"

Suddenly, a kid in a Santa suit was pushed out of the bushes and into the light. Kari didn't recognize him at first. But the goggles on his head immediately gave him away. It was painfully obvious who this was.

"Davis?"

Davis looked like a deer caught in the headlights. "Um…Ho Ho Ho?"

"WHAT…are you WEARING?!"

Davis grinned sheepishly. "I wanted to give you your Christmas present in a special way. So I decided to be your Santa Claus."

Kari couldn't believe it. "……………Unbelievable. Only YOU, Davis. I can't believe you went this far!"

"That wasn't all," Davis continued. "I went all out this year. I even had my own little elf. And he's right in those bushes."

That made Kari a little curious. So she pointed her flashlight at the bushes. There was a boy in an elf costume. Then Kari gasped when she started to recognize him. At first, she didn't believe it, because she could never picture him doing such a thing.

"Oh my……CODY?! Is that…? Oh…"

Indeed, it was nine-year-old Cody Hida…wearing an elf's costume. This sight brought a smile to Kari's face and she started giggling. The giggling soon turned to all-out laughter and, seconds later, Kari was rolling on the floor in laughter.

Cody wasn't taking this with such good humor. "WHAT'S SO FUNNY?!"

Kari couldn't even give him an answer because she was laughing so much. But pretty soon, there was someone joining her. She looked over…and saw that TK had just arrived with a gift in his hand. And he was also laughing out loud.

Davis spotted TK. "Hey! What are YOU doing here?!"

"BESIDES laughing at me?" Cody added.

TK dried a tear from his eye and held his laughter. "I'm sorry, Cody. I came to deliver this to Kari."

Davis went ballistic. "WHAT?! At THIS hour?!"

"It's only midnight," TK pointed out. "I wanted to give this to Kari the minute the clock struck Christmas, so she could open it."

Kari beamed. "TK…that is SO sweet of you."

Davis's jaw dropped open. "HUH?! What about ME?!"

Kari ignored Davis's whining and opened the present. "Oh, TK…a new camera. It's the one I was looking at the other day at the mall. Thank you so much!"

Kari leaned over and gave TK a kiss on the cheek…much to Davis's chagrin. Kari couldn't believe how wonderful this night turned out. She had a smile that would need to be surgically removed.

"Thank you all so much. But I'd better get some sleep. I think Tai's wondering why I haven't gone to bed yet. So…I'll see you all tomorrow. Merry Christmas!"

Kari turned around and walked back into her house, closing the door behind her. She examined her new digital camera, wondering how it worked. More than anything in the world, she wanted to test it out and see if it worked. Then she got an idea. She turned around and opened her door again. Luckily, Davis and Cody were still out there. So she aimed her camera…and took a picture. The two boys were caught off-guard by the sudden flash.

"Wow! The camera works!" Kari grinned. "Merry Christmas, guys!"

Kari turned back around and closed her door. She was about to head off to bed, but stopped when she heard an interesting exchange outside.

"I may not have my kendo stick…but this'll have to do! COME HERE, DAVIS!!"

"C-C-Cody? W-What are you going to do?"

"COME HERE, DAVIS!!"

"Cody! AAH! Stop, Cody! I'm sorry!"

"Come back here, Davis! I'll chase you all night if I have to!!"

Kari giggled and wondered if Cody would catch up to Davis. But in the meantime, she'd head off to bed.

* * *

* * *

Rika sweatdropped. "I don't even think Kazu and Kenta would be capable of something like THAT."

"That's Davis in a nutshell," Kari giggled. "He's totally one of a kind."

"It certainly sounds like he tries very hard," Jeri said. "Are you saying that didn't have any effect on you whatsoever?"

"Well…maybe he grew on me a little," Kari admitted. "Even though I didn't want a boyfriend, I will admit I found Davis's perseverance kinda cute. Unfortunately, I think TK picked up on that. And slowly but surely…he started to change…"

* * *

* * *

_It started around the time my friends were holding a fashion show for a clothing label they just started********. They wanted me to be a model for them and TK and Davis were more than happy to volunteer. Unfortunately, it turned into a strutting contest…for my affections._

The fashion show was going pretty well once it started. But Kari noticed that it quickly started to go downhill. Because TK and Davis were walking out one too many times. Kari had to give Mimi credit for being able to improvise, making this all sound like it WASN'T totally unscheduled.

As Davis was going out one more time, TK rushed to catch up. He came over in a pair of brown cargo pants and a red turtleneck sweater. But in the rush to get out on the catwalk, TK lost his footing and stumbled forward. Unfortunately, he crashed right into Davis, sending him stumbling off the stage…

****CRASH****

…and onto the food table. Kari lowered her head, unable to even look. And Davis wasn't exactly taking this very well.

"You did that on purpose, TP!!"

"I did not!" TK said defensively. "It was an accident!"

"Yeah?! And so is THIS!!"

Davis reached over for one of the cakes and chucked it at TK, hitting him right in the face. TK cleared his face of the cake and looked down to see Davis laughing. Uncharacteristically, TK lost his composure. He jumped down off the stage and grabbed a cherry pie that was on the ground. He threw it at Davis with pinpoint accuracy, nailing him right in the face.

Davis cleared his face and growled. "That's it, TD! You want a piece of me?!"

"Bring it on, Mini-Me!!" TK shot back.

"DON'T call me that!!" Davis shouted.

Kari knew that nothing annoyed Davis more than being referred to as Tai's Mini-Me. Davis reached over for the punch that remained in the punch bowl and splashed it on TK.

"We haven't tested them for stains yet!" Mimi shrieked from the distance.

"Shut up, Mimi!" Sora snapped. "The people don't know that!"

TK was ready to retaliate with a bowl of dip. But when he tossed it, Davis ducked. The bowl of dip flew into the audience…and hit a hapless girl in the face.

TK gasped. "I'm so sorry!"

"Oh shut up, TE!" Davis growled. "You sound so CHEESY!"

With that pun being said, Davis poured cheese dip all over TK. Kari watched as this whole thing completely degenerated. Davis was running around as TK hurled pies all over the place trying to hit him. Unfortunately, TK started hitting audience member after audience member.

"STAND STILL, MINI-ME!!" TK shouted.

Kari felt like turning away. Her two friends had completely lost their minds and she couldn't believe that they could get in a food fight. She was beyond embarrassed and felt so bad for Mimi and Sora. Yet she couldn't look away…which turned out to be a huge mistake, because TK threw one final pie at Davis…which flew over his head…

"OHHH!! TK!!!"

…and hit Kari right in the face. TK saw what he had done and immediately ceased the fight. He ran over to check on Kari.

"Kari, I'm so sorry! Let me clean you up."

"Out of the way, TC! I'LL clean her up!"

"No, I will!"

"I will!"

"I WILL!!"

"No, I WILL!!"

"ME!"

"No, ME!"

"ME!!"

"No, ME!!"

Kari couldn't take it anymore. "STOP IT!!!!!"

TK and Davis immediately stopped upon hearing Kari scream at the top of her lungs. Kari rarely ever did that, so they knew this was really serious. But Kari didn't want to just explode. She wasn't that kind of person.

So instead, Kari walked over to the water cooler, which was half-empty. She walked over to Davis…and poured the water over his head. TK smiled…until Kari picked up a misfired pie from the ground…and smothered it in his face.

Kari grinned. "There…I feel much better."

Kari's anger had gone down and she was ready to go. Not even giving TK or Davis another glance, Kari started to walk away from the remnants of the fashion show.

* * *

* * *

Rika shook her head. "Now THAT sounds like Kazu and Kenta."

"They actually started a food fight?" Jeri asked in disbelief.

Kari sighed. "Unfortunately. And things didn't end there."

"You're making it sound like such a big deal," Rika scoffed. "So two guys liked you and weren't afraid to show it. Maybe they were a little clumsy and immature, but it didn't sound like it was THAT bad. Did it bother you THAT much?"

Kari raised an eyebrow. "If that's what you think, then let me skip ahead right to the main event. Let me tell you the WORST thing those two ever did."

Rika inched closer. "Go on."

"Yeah, tell us, Kari," Jeri added. "What happened?"

Kari sighed. "I can't believe I'm about to tell ANYBODY this story…"

* * *

* * *

_About a few weeks after the fashion show disaster, Davis and TK kept trying to get on my good side. And one day, they both showed up at my house…with their own magic kit*********. I'll admit, it was pretty fun at first and I was enjoying it. But it got really bad, really FAST…_

Kari was definitely impressed with TK's last trick. And she couldn't begin to guess how he pulled it off. But she wasn't the only one. The other wannabe magician present also wanted to know his secret.

"There's no way you could have pulled that trick off!" Davis exclaimed. "How'd you do it, TE?"

"Get my name right and I MIGHT tell you," TK grinned.

"I don't need you to tell me! I can top that any day of the week!"

"You're just jealous, goggle boy! You cannot top that!"

"I…could. It just might…take me time."

"Is the great Davis FINALLY out of ideas?"

"I NEVER run out of ideas!"

Kari knew it couldn't last. The two boys were fighting again. She couldn't take much more of it, so she buried her face in her hands. She didn't need to see this. And there was nothing worse for Kari than seeing her two friends fight.

****CLICK****

Kari felt something snap. She turned her head to see…her left wrist had been handcuffed. And at the other end of the handcuffs…was Davis, who had a wide grin on his face.

"For my next trick, I'll undo these magic handcuffs," Davis said.

"Magic handcuffs, huh?" TK muttered. "Two can play at that game!"

TK reached into his box to reveal he had his own set of magic handcuffs. And he put them at Kari's RIGHT wrist. Kari felt trapped between a rock and a hard place and all she could do was sweatdrop.

First, Davis attempted to undo the handcuffs. He took his plastic magic wand and he tapped the cuffs three times in a pattern. The cuffs didn't come loose.

"Um…maybe it's like this."

Davis tapped the cuffs three times again, this time in a different pattern. Again, the cuffs didn't come loose. Kari was starting to lose her patience and she saw from the look on Davis's face that he knew it, too. So he tapped the cuffs again three times in a different pattern. But the cuffs would not come loose.

"That's weird," Davis mused. "It always USED to work."

"What do you mean USED TO?!" Kari shouted indignantly.

"Why don't you let me show you how it's done, Davis?" TK added.

TK tapped his set of handcuffs three times in a different pattern than what Davis tried before. But it didn't work. The cuffs were still attached. TK sweatdropped and he tried again, this time tapping the cuffs three times in another pattern. Again, the cuffs stayed on. Kari was now giving TK a menacing look and TK knew he was short on time, so he tried tapping the cuffs again in a new pattern. It still wouldn't work.

"So much for the two great magicians," Kari groaned. "Look, you obviously can't do it, so why don't you just get the key already?"

Davis blinked. "There's a key to this?"

"That's NOT funny, Davis!" Kari growled.

"I'm not laughing," Davis gulped. "I didn't think there WAS a key to this. So I might have thrown it away with the box."

Through that revelation, Kari managed to keep her cool. "That's not a problem. I'll just undo those cuffs with TK's key. Where's your key, TK?"

TK blinked. "Um…I think Matt might have lost his key."

Kari gave TK an intimidating glare. "That's NOT funny, TK! Where's the key?"

TK scratched the back of his head with his right hand. "Well…I never PLANNED to use these. I just used them because Davis did it first. And I thought I could get them loose…"

"What are you saying, TK?" Kari demanded.

"I don't have a key, either. I think we're stuck."

Kari immediately turned red. It wasn't the red that neither TK nor Davis was used to seeing. Kari was turning a very ANGRY shade of red. She looked like she was about to blow.

Kari tried to sum it up. "So…you're saying I'm stuck like this? Attached at the wrist to BOTH OF YOU?!"

Davis smiled. "You know, if I could be attached at the wrist to anybody in the world, I'm glad it's…"

"SHUT UP, DAVIS!!" Kari shouted. She then focused her anger on TK. She grabbed him by the shirt with both hands, even though that meant dragging Davis over. "What do you plan to do about this?!"

"Yeah, TH! She obviously doesn't want to be attached to you! This is your fault!"

"My fault?!" TK snapped. "You're the one who attached yourself to her in the first place! This is all your fault!"

"No one told you to attach yourself to her other wrist! It's yours!"

"Yours!"

"Yours!"

"YOURS!"

"STOP IT!!" Kari shrieked. "I don't care WHOSE fault it is! I just want these handcuffs off me! So what do you two plan to do about this?!"

Silence.

TK spoke up first. "Well…we could always try to BREAK the handcuffs."

"But wouldn't it be kinda weird to try and break them here?" Davis thought.

"That's the smartest thing you've said all day," TK responded. "Maybe we should try breaking these somewhere else so we won't be seen. Imagine if Kari's mom comes in and sees us like this. What if TAI sees us like this?"

Kari gulped. "Good point. A change of scenery would be nice."

"But where would we go?" Davis asked.

TK grinned. "I think we all know the answer to that."

Kari sweatdropped. That obviously meant it was time to drag her other friends into this. And the last thing she really wanted was to be seen attached at the right wrist to TK and at the left wrist to Davis.

This was going to be a VERY LONG DAY.

* * *

* * *

Kari sighed. "Those were the longest two days of my life. You have no idea what it's like to be attached at BOTH wrists! And I can't even begin to tell you about all the trouble everything caused. It's something I DON'T want to go through ever again."

Jeri had a look of shock on her face. "I can't believe it. I've never heard of being handcuffed at BOTH wrists."

"And you actually CHOSE one of them?" Rika asked. "I would have dumped them both."

"Actually, that thought did cross my mind for a while," Kari admitted. "But then things started to get better. And eventually…I made a choice. I chose TK."

"If you chose TK, then what's up with you and Davis?" Rika pointed out.

Kari sighed deeply. "Well…one day during my senior year, TK and I broke up. I…really can't say why. It's…complicated and I really don't want to bring up those bad memories. But the one who was there for me when we broke up…was Davis. And I can't begin to describe what a sweetheart he's been over these past few months." Kari suddenly started twitching. "You know…I really need to go to the bathroom right now. But I hope I answered everything."

Rika thought about that. "For now. We'll let you know if we think of something else. Right, Jeri?"

Jeri nodded. "We have all year to get to know each other. But in the meantime, I might as well head off to the bathroom, too. You coming, Rika?"

Rika sweatdropped. "I don't know what it is with girls that they have to go to the bathroom together. I never understood that. You guys go on. I'll stay here."

"Ok, we'll be right back," Jeri grinned. "Let's go, Kari."

Kari walked over towards the door with Jeri catching up. She looked over to see that Jeri was looking very satisfied with herself. Kari shook her head. It looked like Jeri was the type who'd want to know EVERYTHING about Kari's past relationships.

But she seemed like a nice enough girl. Kari wouldn't mind occasional girl talk.

* * *

Rika watched as Jeri and Kari walked out to go to the bathroom. She couldn't believe how willing Kari was to spill her guts like that. But there was quite a bit she couldn't believe about that girl.

"Can you believe her, Renamon?" Rika asked. "She had TWO guys pursuing her incessantly. Not giving her any breathing room whatsoever and even going as far as to handcuff themselves to her! If that was me, I'd have knocked their blocks off. But she actually chose one of those two. Pretty pathetic of her, if you ask me."

Rika turned around as Renamon came out and made herself visible. But it didn't look like she was paying attention. Instead, she was heading for the closet.

"Renamon, what is it?" Rika asked curiously.

"She's here," Renamon muttered. "I can sense her. I can practically SMELL her."

"Who?"

Renamon sneered. "Gatomon."

Rika couldn't help but feel a little skeptical. If there was another Digimon in her room, she would have noticed. But this also concerned her a bit. If there was a Digimon in her room, then she had unwittingly been invaded. She may have unknowingly put herself in harm's way.

Renamon reached over and suddenly threw the door open. "I know you're in there, cat! Come out of there!"

Rika felt curious. She got up and walked behind Renamon and looked in the closet. But the closet looked empty. Suddenly, Rika looked up and gasped. There was something hanging above the closet on the ceiling. It was a cat wearing yellow gloves. It was a Digimon. That was the Gatomon that Renamon was talking about.

"Hey Foxy! Up here! BANZAI!!"

The Gatomon jumped down and knocked Renamon on her back. Before Rika could even react, the two Digimon were rolling all around the room, swiping at each other. They kept rolling until they hit the wall, knocking down the picture frames that Rika just put back up. The Gatomon tried to swipe with her sharp claw, but Renamon shielded herself with one of Rika's pillows. Unfortunately, that resulted in the pillow exploding in an eruption of feathers.

"Oh, so you want a pillow fight, huh?" the Gatomon snarled.

The Gatomon reached over for another of Rika's pillows. She swung it with all her might, knocking Renamon aside. She came running again and got ready to swing a second time. But by the time the Gatomon swung, Renamon punched it fiercely, creating another explosion of feathers. In the blink of an eye, Renamon rolled over and grabbed a bottle of water. She took a huge sip, but didn't swallow. When the Gatomon ran towards her again, with paws outstretched and ready to strike, Renamon met her with a spray of water that temporarily blinded the feline.

Renamon used that brief distraction to lunge forward and tackle that Gatomon, knocking her against the wall. More picture frames fell, to Rika's dismay. Renamon then picked the Gatomon up by one of her legs.

"You're going for a spin, kitty!"

Renamon started spinning around, increasing her momentum with every rotation, until she let go, sending the Gatomon flying into the other wall. The Gatomon got up and started staggering around. Renamon looked like she was about to go in for the kill. But Rika realized that if she went for her Diamond Storm attack, she could cause a lot of damage to the room.

"Renamon! Not in here!"

Renamon turned to Rika, but the Gatomon responded quickly to that brief distraction. With catlike speed, she dove forward and delivered a stiff kick, knocking Renamon down. The Gatomon jumped on top of Renamon and put her hands on her throat. Renamon responded in kind by getting in a chokehold of her own. Both Digimon had their hands around the other's neck.

Suddenly, the door opened. Rika turned around to see Jeri and…

…Kari.

The Gatomon suddenly gasped. "Kari?"

Renamon took that opportunity to give the Gatomon one stiff punch, knocking her down and sending her sliding towards the door. Renamon fell to a knee, obviously fatigued.

Rika ran over to Renamon. "Renamon!"

But likewise…Kari ran over to the Gatomon. "Gatomon!"

Rika suddenly stopped in her tracks and turned around. She suddenly saw that Kari…was checking on the Gatomon.

"Are you ok, Gatomon?"

"I'm fine, Kari. But…I think I might have blown my cover."

Kari slowly turned around and saw Renamon. "Gatomon? Is that…"

The Gatomon looked fiercely at Renamon. "That's her. THAT'S Renamon."

Rika noticed that she wasn't even being acknowledged. But she had to state the obvious. She angrily stepped between the Gatomon and Renamon and stared coldly at Kari.

"That's…YOUR Gatomon?!"

Kari nodded timidly. "Y-Yes. Wait a minute! Is that…YOUR Renamon?"

Rika didn't answer. She continued glaring a hole right into Kari as Renamon stood by her side. The Gatomon suddenly leaped up and stood in front of Kari. This was tense to say the least…but the tension was soon broken…by an unexpected visitor.

"You know, some of us are trying to do some homework out here…"

Rika turned to see that one of the RA's was standing at the door. Now she was panicked. The Digimon had been seen. But to Rika's surprise, the RA didn't panic at all. She just turned to her right.

"Sora! We've got a problem!"

Sora walked over to the door. "Mimi, what is…………what the…?"

Sora and Mimi stood at the doorway, switching gazes from Gatomon to Renamon. Jeri could only stand by the corner sheepishly. Kari just waved shyly and Rika just looked lost. She didn't know what to make of any of this.

That's when a guy came to the door. It was one of the male RA's. "Sora! Mimi! We've got a…problem…downstairs."

The guy looked inside and also noticed Gatomon and Renamon. Everything stayed eerily silent. Kari sweatdropped and waved coyly again.

"Hey Tai!"

The guy sweatdropped. "I really AM getting too old for this." Then he shook it off. "Ok, so we've got Digimon up here AND down there…"

Sora cut him off. "Huh? What do you mean 'down there'?"

Tai shook his head. "Doesn't matter. Save all your questions for right now. I'll explain it…as soon as we have a meeting!"

Mimi blinked. "Meeting?"

Tai looked inside the room. "You three, I want you up on the 4th floor in ten minutes!"

After leaving that instruction, Tai walked out, leaving three confused roommates and two bewildered RA's.

"Uh…you…heard him," Sora said slowly.

"Yeah…" Mimi added. "That's what he said. We'll see you up there."

Kari looked over at Rika…and smiled sheepishly. "I guess there's still a little bit you don't know about me."

Rika sneered. "That's obvious." She walked over to the door and turned back to give her a cold stare. "You coming?"

Kari nodded and followed with Jeri right behind her. Rika couldn't believe this. Renamon had already been discovered…but Kari's little secret had also been exposed. This was too much for Rika right now and she didn't know what to expect from the RA's now.

But she was about to find out…as she headed up to the 4th floor.

* * *

Puppetmon looked over the whole row of Digimon that were lined up in the Server base's hangar. The quantity of Digimon down there was pretty pathetic. But the ones that WERE there were pretty vicious, either under the influence of the Black Gears or there out of the badness of their hearts.

"There are so many," Datamon murmured. "Puppetmon, who do you think should be sent to trash a city?"

"Hey! You weren't about to choose without me, were you?" another voice called out.

Puppetmon looked over at the hangar door to see that the third partner in crime had finally arrived. It was the Digimon Empress.

"It's about time you showed up," Datamon said. "Please be more prompt in the future."

The Digimon Empress walked over and looked over the whole row of Digimon. "They all look so perfectly nasty. I wish we could send them all. Such a shame we can only send one because of that imperfect machine. So how do we decide who goes?"

"Ooh, I know how to find out!" Puppetmon piped up. He stepped forward. "All of you guys, come over here!"

All the Digimon stepped forward…with the exception of one.

"Ah-ah-ah, Simon didn't say!" Puppetmon pointed out. He looked over to the one that didn't move. "Hey, you're pretty smart. I like that. Well…it might have been that you just weren't listening, but anyway…you just volunteered, big guy. Who are you?"

Puppetmon was looking right at the enthusiastic volunteer. He was a gray dinosaur with horns on his nose and a line of them on his back. There was a black and red striped tusk protruding from each shoulder. What Puppetmon liked most about this one was that he wasn't even wearing a Black Gear. This one was here on his own.

"This is Tuskmon," The Digimon Empress answered. "Not only does he look intimidating, but he's also got a vicious temper. He's perfect."

Puppetmon laughed maniacally. "Goodie! Let's send him NOW, Datamon!"

"NO!" The Digimon Empress snapped. "Now is not the time."

"What do you mean?" Puppetmon demanded. "Now looks like the perfect time! What are we waiting for?"

"Now Puppetmon, the one thing you need to learn is patience," Datamon cut in. "We COULD send him now, but our Digimon Empress has a point."

"What are you talking about?"

"If you want to terrorize the town, you have to wait until everybody's out!" The Digimon Empress clarified. "And there's nothing humans like me enjoy more…than a Friday night. So we'll go ahead and ruin their Friday by sending our little friend into the busy streets."

"Alright! Can't wait!" Tuskmon snarled.

"Isn't she just the cruelest?" Datamon said proudly. "Cut from the same mold we were."

"Hey, I may be mean and nasty, but don't compare me to YOU!" The Digimon Empress growled. "I'm not a walking dome or a termite buffet."

Puppetmon took offense to that. "TERMITE BUFFET?!"

The Digimon Empress nonchalantly started walking out. "I'll tell you what. I still have that communicator you gave me, Datamon. I'll tell you when the right time is. But if you want to cause some REAL damage and terror, then I suggest you WAIT until I give you that signal."

"We'll make sure to do that," Datamon replied. "Right, Puppetmon?"

"Yeah, yeah, but I'm not real good at waiting."

Puppetmon watched the cocky Digimon Empress walk out. He couldn't believe her ego. He sensed that she soon needed to be reminded that someone was pulling her strings. He would give her that harsh reminder soon enough.

  


Next Time: Our characters are having a floor meeting! But this isn't like college floor meetings. The topic on this one is…the Digimon. The DigiDestined of past and present and the Tamers are about to learn all about each other and their secret lives. Our DigiDestined and Tamers are about to REALLY learn about each other. Then we hit Friday night as Davis and Kari are ready to go out on their first date. Unfortunately…that's the same night the villains are sending out Tuskmon. This isn't Davis's ideal college Friday. Come see it next time on Digimon: The College Years!

  


*****- See "Mistletoe"

******- See "Break A Leg", where TK and Davis confess their true feelings for Kari. Well…to each other.

*******- See "Davis Claus and the Reluctant Elf"

********- See "The Fashion Show"

*********- And OF COURSE, my readers remember the whole handcuff fiasco. See "Three's Always A Crowd"

  


Any comments? Then mail me at AmericanCaptor@hotmail.com and don't forget to review below!


	8. Floor Meeting!

Last Time: Tai discovered a few secrets, namely Terriermon and Guilmon, and rushed to tell Matt that he's calling a meeting on the 4th floor. Meanwhile, Kari was still getting the third degree, so she recalled some incidents of days past. While she and Jeri went to the bathroom, Renamon came out and headed for the closet, where she discovered Gatomon. The two enemy Digimon went at it again, but this time in front of Rika! When Kari and Jeri came back, Kari tended to Gatomon while Rika saw the whole thing…giving her ANOTHER reason not to like her. Before anything more can happen, Sora and Mimi discovered the scene…and so did Tai. Now there's a meeting on the 4th floor with the DigiDestined and the Tamers. Meanwhile in the Digital World, the villains decided on sending the fierce Tuskmon to the real world and The Digimon Empress suggested sending him…on a busy Friday night.

  


**Digimon: The College Years**

Episode 8- Floor Meeting!

  


Davis couldn't help but notice that the 4th floor's lounge, which was usually empty, was getting awfully crowded, but not just with humans. He saw seven Digimon lined up against the wall. And they weren't all from the first floor. Davis looked over to see that the guys weren't the only ones in the room. Three girls were in there also…and among those…

"Kari?"

Davis and Kari walked over to each other and then looked around to note the surroundings.

"Kari…can you tell me what happened?"

Kari sighed. "I think we've been caught."

A red-haired girl in a ponytail that stood up walked up to them. "You aren't the only ones who've been exposed. You think I MEANT for this to happen?"

Kari sighed again. "Davis, meet my other roommate, Rika."

Davis grinned and extended the hand of friendship. "Nice to meet you!"

Rika smirked and accepted the handshake. "Oh, so YOU'RE the Davis Motomiya that Kari's told me so much about. Nice to finally meet you."

"Oh, you heard about me?" Davis asked cheerfully. "Well, I can't really be surprised. I mean, I AM such a great guy and everything."

Rika chuckled and turned to Kari. "I can see he's quite the modest one." She turned back to Davis. "And I take it you met Takato?"

Davis nodded. "Uh…yeah. I've…run into him a few times."

"No kidding."

Davis turned around to see Takato. "Takato, you talk about that like it happened yesterday or something."

"It DID happen yesterday! REPEATEDLY!"

"Oh…"

"Just what are we waiting for?" Takato asked curiously.

"That's a good question," Kari noted. She looked over to the front of the room. "Tai! What are we waiting for?"

At the front of the room were the building's Resident Advisors: Tai, Matt, Sora, and Mimi. Notably absent was the RD, Ms. Mackenzie, and Davis knew exactly the reason why. This meeting was apparently for those with Digimon only. The RA's weren't there as RA's. They were there as DigiDestined.

"We're waiting for two more guests," Tai answered.

Of course, as if on cue, someone knocked on the lounge door. Matt walked over to answer it and Davis saw that two more familiar guests had just arrived. It was Izzy and Joe…and they were both carrying their respective Digimon, Tentomon and Gomamon.

"Sorry we took so long," Joe said casually. "We had a little trouble with our…uh…stuffed animals. Right, Izzy?"

"Oh…uh…YEAH! We had to take a while to…dust them off. They attract quite a bit of dust, you know. And we wouldn't want them to get grimy."

Matt sweatdropped. "You guys can go ahead and drop the stuffed animal act now."

"Um…what stuffed animal act?" Joe stammered. "Why, this is no act, Matt. You know that they're really…"

Tai stopped Joe in his tracks and pointed to the wall, where the seven exposed Digimon were all standing side-by-side. Lined up from left to right were Gatomon, Patamon, Veemon, Wormmon, and the three other Digimon that were discovered. Veemon and Guilmon both waved cheerfully.

Joe blinked. "Oh…"

Izzy's eyes widened. "What is this, Tai?"

Tai sighed. "Let's find out. I now call this floor meeting to order. I'd like to think there are some things that RA's could overlook and pretend never happened. Frankly, I'd prefer it. Makes less work for me to do. But some things just can't be ignored. And…that's one of them."

The Digimon all scratched the back of their heads nervously. The college freshmen all sweatdropped.

Tai turned to Takato, Henry, Rika, and Jeri. "That says it all. I think you all know what this is leading to. I think the question now is pretty obvious. YOU all know what I want to know. And don't try to deny it, either! The best thing to do is come clean and tell me what I want to know."

"Are you all DigiDestined, or what?" Mimi cut in.

Tai groaned. "Mimi! *I* wanted to ask them that!"

"Well you were taking so long, Tai."

"It's called 'dramatic tension'! You know, leading up to the big question, that sort of thing."

"Well, SORRRRRRYYYYYY!!"

Rika looked over at Takato and Henry. "What's she talking about? I thought DigiDestined weren't real."

Henry nodded. "I think they ARE real. And…"

"That's us!" Davis chimed in. "We're the DigiDestined!"

Silence. There was some tension in the air. Everyone was a little nervous about what was happening.

"Davis, we know who you guys are," Tai said. He looked over at Takato, Henry, Rika, and Jeri again. "But you four…are you four DigiDestined?"

"We didn't even know DigiDestined existed," Jeri answered. "We thought they were just legends."

"But if you aren't DigiDestined, then what are you?" Sora asked. "What else could you be? You have Digimon."

"We're Digimon Tamers," Takato answered. "We thought they were Tamers, too."

Tai blinked. "What's a Tamer?"

The four exchanged glances before they all faced Tai again.

"Um…you don't know what a Tamer is?" Henry asked. "Yet you have Digimon?"

"Tamers each have a Digimon partner and they both look out for each other," Takato tried explaining.

"Kinda like a DigiDestined?" Matt asked.

"Yeah, but I heard DigiDestined go a step further and were actually chosen to save the Digital World," Takato pointed out. "And I've heard they've already saved it ten times over."

"He's got a point," Sora concurred. "So…does this mean you guys have never been to the Digital World?"

Takato looked back for some encouragement. Henry, Rika, and Jeri just shrugged. Neither one knew what else could be said.

"We've…been there once," Takato answered. "But that took a lot of effort and we haven't been back ever since. The story of the DigiDestined says that they can go in and out of the Digital World at will."

Tai turned to the older DigiDestined. "Anybody want to take that one, or should I?"

Of course, Izzy was the first one to step in. "I'll field that one, Tai. It's true that with our Digivices, we can open a gate to the Digital World, but only if there's a PC or laptop present."

"Digivices?" Henry repeated. "Like this?"

Henry pulled out…a Digivice. Rika and Takato reached into their pockets and also pulled out a Digivice. But these looked different. It was still a Digivice, but it was a different shape than Davis's or any of those held by the old or new DigiDestined. The ten DigiDestined present were all amazed to see it, but none more than Izzy.

"Prodigious! That IS a Digivice! If I may ask, how did you guys get one?"

There was a brief moment of silence. It was apparent that the last thing these Tamers expected was an inquiry on this night.

"Our stories are all different," Henry began. "I remember the day I got my Digivice. It was the day I was playing a computer game and I saw this Terriermon on the screen about to meet his end. A Blue Card suddenly appeared to me and I swiped it through one of my card readers. The card reader turned into a Digivice. Since then, Terriermon has been my partner."

Rika went next. "I remember when I got my Digivice. I had just won another tournament and when I came home, my card reader began to glow. I saw three windows, each full of Digimon who wanted me to make them stronger. But I said I just wanted ONE strong Digimon. And that's where I met Renamon. I saw a Blue Card on the ground and I swiped it through my card reader. It transformed into a Digivice. Since that day, Renamon and I have been partners."

"What about you, goggle boy?" Tai, of all people, asked. "How did you get your Digivice?"

"Oh, it's the weirdest story. I actually made Guilmon out of one of my drawings. One day before heading off to school, I noticed a Blue Card in my stack of Digimon cards. I had never seen it there before, but my curiosity got the better of me and I swiped it through my card reader. It started sparkling and going crazy…but I didn't want to risk a tardy, so I left for school. When I came back, there was a Digivice. I wondered if it was real and I swiped one of my drawings of Guilmon through it. And…that's when Guilmon came alive. And he's been my best friend ever since."

Everyone's jaw was wide-open. Especially Tai's. "Uh…Izzy?"

Izzy pulled out his laptop and used it to identify each Digimon. "Hmm…Renamon, rookie level, animal data type. Her main attack is Diamond Storm. Terriermon, rookie level, animal vaccine type. His main attacks are Bunny Blast and Terrier Tornado."

Patamon rubbed the back of his head painfully. "No kidding."

Izzy then tried to examine Guilmon, but encountered a surprise. "Amazing! This one isn't even listed!"

Takato nodded. "I told you. I made Guilmon out of a drawing."

Izzy looked like a kid in a candy store. "This is all so remarkable! After these past ten years, I thought I knew everything there was to know about Digimon and the Digital World. But now I find this! You guys have got to let me study you!"

Guilmon blinked. "Study? Like what Takato does with his books? Does that mean you want to throw me against the wall?"

Izzy sweatdropped. "Um…not quite what I had in mind." Then he thought of something else. "Actually, hold that thought for a few weeks. There's something else I'd like to study first." He looked over at Takato. "Do you still have that Blue Card with you?"

Takato reached into his pocket and pulled out the Blue Card. "It's right here."

Izzy took the Blue Card and examined it. "It appears to be an ordinary card. But from what I'm hearing, this Blue Card has some mysterious power. I see a bunch of secrets just WAITING to be uncovered. Now do any of you have a Digivice I could use?"

Henry took out his Digivice and handed it to Izzy. Izzy gladly took it in his hand and started looking it over.

"Hey Izzy, let me take a look at that Blue Card," Tentomon chimed in…much to Takato's shock.

"It's alive?" Takato asked.

"Pay attention, goggle boy!" Rika snapped. "The RA just said that the stuffed animal thing was an act!"

Gomamon flopped over to Takato. "Yeah, we're definitely real. But don't go running away screaming on me like Joe did the first time I met him."

"I thought you'd forgotten about that," Joe muttered.

"So you've only been to the Digital World once?" Sora asked.

Takato nodded. "There was a huge outbreak of Digital Fields in our hometown of West Shinjuku. We were invaded by the twelve Devas, all ultimate-level Digimon who were looking for a friend of ours. Once our friend was taken, we took advantage of the open Digital Field to go into the Digital World. While we were there, a lot happened to us. We faced off with the rest of the Devas and we met up with the four Digimon Sovereigns: Azulongmon, Baihumon, Ebonwumon, and Zhuqiaomon.

"We found out that there was a greater threat out there known as the D-Reaper, a program made to balance out the Digital World that had mutated out of control. Thanks to Henry's dad, we were able to leave the Digital World on an ark made through a program. But it still wasn't over. The D-Reaper reached as far as West Shinjuku and wreaked all kinds of havoc before we were able to stop it for good."

There was another brief silence. Davis's jaw was still wide open. He couldn't believe he never knew about any of this until now.

"Matt, does this feel like it'll be a long year to you?" Tai asked.

"I kinda get that vibe," Matt replied. "But look at it this way, Tai. It's just these three."

"But aren't there four of them?" Sora pointed out.

"Hey, that's right!" Tai agreed. He then looked at the fourth one present…Jeri. "What about you?"

Jeri hung her head down sadly. "I…used to be a Tamer."

"Used to be?" Kari asked. "What happened?"

"Takato mentioned that a lot happened to us in the Digital World. And I don't think anyone was more affected than I was. It's…a long story…and it's not one that I'd care to relive anytime soon. I hope you understand."

Kari was about to pry a little further, but Ken put a hand on her shoulder and shook his head. Davis realized that if anyone could relate to past strife, it was Ken.

Izzy looked over the Blue Card. "If I may, I'd like to study this Blue Card. And later on, some of your Digimon. Is that ok?"

Takato nodded. "I don't see why not."

"Great! Thanks a lot! This meeting is adjourned!"

"HEY! Who's the leader here?" Tai snapped. He hesitated for a moment. "Ok, I guess I have a few last words to say. You guys are really lucky that I'M the one who caught you and your Digimon. If it had been anyone else, like…I don't know…"

"Ms. Mackenzie?" Sora suggested.

"Thanks, Sora. If anyone else like Ms. Mackenzie had caught your Digimon, then who knows what would happen? You guys have to be more careful!"

TK looked over at Patamon and shook his head. "I knew it was a bad idea bringing you along, Patamon. Maybe it's better if you just go home."

Patamon gasped and immediately rushed to clutch TK's leg. "No, TK! Please don't send me home! I'll be good! I promise! That was just an accident! I won't do it again! I promise, TK! Please!"

"TK…maybe you should just be more careful," Matt cut in. "Patamon's not the type to get into trouble on purpose."

"I think if there's anybody we should worry about, it's Gatomon and Renamon," Kari pointed out. "They have an old grudge from the past and I'm not sure if they'll be able to get along."

"I agree with you completely, Kari," Gatomon nodded. "I don't think Renamon and I CAN get along."

"First time I've agreed with you on anything, Gatomon," Renamon concurred.

"Uh huh. So you can go ahead and leave."

Renamon nodded…until she realized what she just said. "What?! Why should *I* leave?! If anyone should leave, it's YOU!"

"No way!" Gatomon protested. "I was here first! You leave!"

"You were NOT! I was! You leave!"

"No, you!"

"You!"

"YOU!"

"No, YOU!"

"STOP IT!" Kari and Rika shouted.

Sora decided to play peacemaker. "Ok, I see only one way to settle this."

"You do?" Mimi asked.

"Come on, Mimi. The answer's right in front of us." She walked over between Gatomon and Renamon. "I think you should both get to stay here…but ONLY if you two can get along. I think that the first one of you to show any act of physical hostility or aggression towards the other should be the one to leave."

"Sounds fair," Gatomon mumbled.

"I agree," Renamon muttered.

"Now show me that you two are ok with this," Sora said.

Gatomon spit in her glove and extended the hand of friendship. "Here."

"What's that?" Renamon asked.

"I saw it in a movie once," Gatomon answered. "It's how two people make an agreement. Just do it."

Renamon shrugged. "Whatever you say."

With that, Renamon naïvely spit in Gatomon's glove. Gatomon groaned in disgust and looked over at Kari.

"Come on, Gatomon. You remember the movie. You HAD to see that one coming."

"I guess so," Gatomon muttered dryly. "Maybe I should be a little more careful next time."

Tai cleared his throat. "So…I'll just wrap this up by saying, PLEASE be more careful with your Digimon. You can keep them here. The RA's and I are willing to look the other way…mostly because we can relate, since some of us have Digimon on our own." He made sure to focus his gaze on Joe and Izzy. "But you have to make sure that the other students and the other university staff don't see them. Are we all clear?"

The freshmen all nodded.

"Ok then. RA's? Any more words for the freshmen?"

The RA's shook their heads.

"Ok then. Meeting adjourned. Now if you'll excuse me…I need to check for wrinkles."

With that, Tai Kamiya walked out. The ground rules were now set. But Davis couldn't help but notice something.

"Did he say 'check for wrinkles'?"

"DON'T…ask!" Matt groaned.

Matt and the older DigiDestined then followed Tai's lead and started walking out, but Izzy stopped and looked back, holding up Takato's Blue Card.

"I'll have this back to you next week. Or better yet, I'll give you a call. Maybe we can talk sometime, DigiDestined to Tamer."

"I'm looking forward to it," Tentomon added.

The 4th floor lounged was then cleared of any old DigiDestined. The only ones remaining were the new DigiDestined and the Tamers.

"So…I guess things will be different now?" Davis guessed.

"Yeah. There's a lot I'm curious about. Well…there's some stuff I WOULD ask, except…"

Silence.

"What?" Davis, TK, and Ken asked.

Takato sweatdropped. "I've got homework."

So did Henry. "Me, too. I have a feeling we'll pick this up as we go along. We'll see you around. Come on, Terriermon."

Terriermon was about to walk over to Henry, but he turned to shoot Patamon a stare. From what Davis could tell, this little Digimon was liable to hold a grudge. But surprisingly, he walked over to Patamon and just extended the hand of friendship.

"Let's just call this whole thing even," Terriermon muttered. "Truce?"

Patamon reluctantly accepted. "Fine. Truce. I'm sorry I hit you in the back."

"And I'm sorry I threw you into the wall."

Kari saw this gentle exchange and turned to Gatomon. "See that, Gatomon? Why can't you and Renamon do that?"

"Forget it!" both Gatomon and Renamon snapped, before turning their backs to each other.

Seeing Kari was getting nowhere with those two Digimon, she focused on Rika. "Well…we have all year to make sure they get along. I'm sure they can be good friends, just like you and me."

Unfortunately, Rika didn't share in Kari's cheerful demeanor. She slowly turned her head and looked sourly at her.

"I have some homework of my own. Let's go, Renamon."

"I'm right behind you, Rika."

Rika started heading out with Renamon following behind. As they reached the door, Renamon went invisible and disappeared.

"Whoa! Neat trick!" Davis exclaimed. "You don't see that everyday."

TK just shrugged. "This has been a weird day and I'm just glad it's coming to an end. Let's just go back."

Davis couldn't argue with that. He was about to go back to his room with TK and Ken, but Kari grabbed his hand and stopped him. He turned around to see a warm smile on her face.

"So…are we still going out tomorrow night?"

Davis scratched the back of his head bashfully. "Of course! I can't wait! It'll be a Friday night you'll never forget!"

Kari leaned over and kissed Davis on the cheek. "I'm sure it will be."

Davis stood frozen, once again blushing a bright yet. Kari giggled and started leading him out by the hand. He may not have been Kari's boyfriend yet, but Davis could feel that he was well on his way.

* * *

Sora found that whole meeting to be very revealing. Before this day, she didn't know that there were such things as Digimon Tamers. And it looked like the year would get much more interesting with more Digimon roaming around the dorms. Hopefully no one would notice.

But before Sora and Mimi could reach their room, they saw someone waiting for them. It was the Resident Director.

"Oh hello, Ms. Mackenzie," Mimi grinned nervously.

"Good evening, ladies," Ms. Mackenzie smiled. "I couldn't help but notice that you were and some of the freshmen were heading to the 4th floor lounge…carrying around some stuffed animals. Very odd, to say the least. There isn't a problem, is there?"

"Oh, no problem," Sora replied hastily. "Nothing wrong at all. It's just that……we wanted to go over the……stuffed animal policy with them!"

"Strange. I don't think we HAVE a stuffed animal policy."

"Really? I thought they were adding one this year. Weren't they, Mimi?"

"It must have gotten cancelled at the last second. I wish they'd let us RA's know that sort of vital information ahead of time."

"So there aren't any problems?" Ms. Mackenzie asked.

Sora fumbled with her key. "Oh, no problem. No problem at all."

She struggled to get the key in and when she got it in, she finally turned it. The door opened, but Sora heard the door smash against two skulls, followed by two yelps. Sora looked inside and saw Biyomon and Palmon, still in their dresses, get knocked back. They were obviously eavesdropping.

Ms. Mackenzie walked into the room and picked up Biyomon. She looked the little bird straight in the eye. To Biyomon's credit, she didn't even flinch, despite the impromptu starting contest. She was used to playing this little game with Sora's other visitors.

"I'm seeing the strangest stuffed animals this year," Ms. Mackenzie noted. "And I've seen my share of strange toys before. Did this one come with the dress?"

"Oh no, that's our unique design!" Mimi exclaimed proudly. "You like it? We want to go into children's apparel someday."

"It looks lovely, ladies. Well if there aren't any problems, then I'd better take my leave. I have some assignments of my own that I need to wrap up. Have a good night, RA's."

"Good night," Sora and Mimi said in unison.

Ms. Mackenzie finally placed Biyomon gently on the ground and started walking out, but not before she briefly turned her head to give Palmon a quick glance. She walked out and closed the door behind her. Sora and Mimi breathed big sighs of relief.

Biyomon shook her head frantically. "There's something weird about her."

Palmon rubbed her head painfully. "That really hurt! Do you have to open that door so hard?"

"You two can't be eavesdropping like that," Mimi chided. "We got lucky this time, but what if you get seen next time? Do you two HAVE to be so nosy?"

"We're girls, what can we say?" Palmon grinned.

Biyomon nodded. "Just because we aren't human, doesn't mean we don't like to hear juicy tidbits just like any other girl. So what happened?"

Sora sat on her bed. Biyomon took that as a hint and rushed over to sit on her lap. Mimi stayed with Palmon and struggled to get the dress off the little plant.

Sora sighed. "Where should I start? Well…you guys might be surprised to learn that you aren't the only Digimon here…"

* * *

"So what happens now?"

Matt was the first one to pose that question to Izzy and Joe as soon as they got into Matt and Tai's room. Tai might have done the same thing, but he had rushed to the bathroom as soon as they got back. It was just Matt alone with Izzy, Joe, Tentomon, and Gomamon.

"There's something that's still bothering me about this," Izzy replied.

"What's that?" Joe asked.

"It started out that WE were the ones destined to save the Digital World," Izzy explained. "A few years later, things changed and the new Digivices were created for the NEW DigiDestined. It was even discovered that DigiDestined were all around the world.

"But Gennai never told us about Tamers. And if this so-called 'D-Reaper' was as big a threat as Takato said it was, then why didn't Gennai ever come to us or any of the other international DigiDestined? Why take a chance with a whole new breed?"

"I guess that's something we'll have to ask him," Matt guessed.

"You talk like it's as easy as a phone call," Joe pointed out. "This is Gennai we're talking about. We don't see him unless he wants us to see him. If he chooses to keep in touch with anyone, it's Izzy. And even HE hasn't seen Gennai in years."

"I'm very curious about all this," Izzy mused. "I have some questions I'd like to ask Gennai. But we'll have to wait until he comes to us again."

"So what do we do in the meantime?" Matt asked.

"I'm going to take a look at this new Digivice and this Blue Card," Izzy answered. "Who knows what fascinating information I can find."

"Won't that cut into your TA time?" Tentomon thought.

"I think it works the other way around," Izzy replied. "My TA time will cut into this. But I can get a lot more done if I have some help…from a certain friend."

Joe blinked. "Izzy, why are you looking at me like that?"

"You're the only one with that kind of time on your hands, Joe."

"You think I have time on my hands? I'm a fifth-year senior trying to get my Master's! I hardly have any time! I have to balance schoolwork and…watching Gomamon."

"Joe, I don't think watching over me is a 24-hour-a-day task," Gomamon protested. "Maybe we can help Izzy study this stuff. I know I'VE never seen anything like that Digivice or that Blue Card."

"Let's look over it during the weekend, Joe," Izzy persisted. "I'll call Cody! We can all look them over together, just the three of us."

"Ahem…"

"Ok, the five of us. Maybe six if Cody brings Upamon."

Joe sighed. "You aren't about to stop bugging me about this, are you?"

"Nope."

"Ok, fine! I'll be at your apartment on Sunday."

Matt sweatdropped. "Sounds like you guys have a fun weekend ahead of you."

"You bet," Izzy grinned, unable to see past Matt's sarcasm.

Suddenly, Tai walked back into the room. He looked to be hiding something behind his back, but Matt quickly cut him off.

"Tai, what do you have behind your back?"

"Uh…nothing…"

"Tai, what is it?"

"Nothing. It's none of your business."

Now Matt was curious. He reached over behind Tai's back to try and grab whatever he had. Tai struggled to try and keep it away and he ended up dropping it. Before Tai could bend down and pick it up, Matt shoved him out of the way and got it first. Matt looked at the bottle and sweatdropped.

"Just For Men?" Matt muttered dryly. "Tai, you got HAIR COLORING?!"

"I noticed some gray hairs," Tai said sheepishly. "It took me a while to find them, but they're there."

Matt sighed deeply. "Tai, I hate to do this, but…what am I saying? No I don't."

Matt reared back and punched Tai in the face, just like in the good old days. Tai fell and landed on his bed. But to Matt's surprise, that didn't solve anything.

"Matt, my face can't take as much punishment as it used to. It's getting on in years."

Matt shook his head, threw his hands up in frustration, and looked over at Izzy and Joe. "A little help?"

"Well, we'd better be going," Izzy said quickly.

"Yeah, we've got a lot of homework, you know," Joe added. "But we'll let you know what we find about the Digivices and the Blue Card. Later, guys."

Izzy and Joe took Tentomon and Gomamon and rushed out, leaving the two RA's all by themselves. Tai was looking in the mirror, checking for bruises, which he never did after any of the other previous times that Matt punched him. Matt didn't know what else to do.

"Tai, I don't know what to do with you. What do I have to do to show you that you're still a young man?"

"There's nothing you CAN do, Matt. I've aged. The only thing I can do is accept it."

"You can accept it. But you are NOT an old man, Tai Kamiya! And I'll find a way to prove it to you!"

Matt stormed out of his room, leaving Tai alone to think. He didn't know how, but he would make Tai feel young again.

* * *

There was a silence back in the dorm of the younger male DigiDestined. They didn't know what else to say about what happened and what's been discovered. And for Davis, the silence was bordering eeriness.

"Well? Isn't anybody going to say something?"

"I think it's still sinking in to some of us," Ken replied.

"I don't know about that Terriermon," Veemon began. "What if he tries to get in here again?"

"We'll be ready for him," Patamon grinned.

"Oh no! No more fighting between you!" TK snapped. "We were lucky none of the other people in this hall noticed four Digimon battling in a dorm room."

"That Ms. Mackenzie lady heard something," Veemon pointed out. "She came in here and got in a staring contest with Patamon."

"Why didn't you say anything before?" Davis demanded.

"You didn't ask," Veemon answered casually.

"If she's not on to us now, she probably will be by the end of the year," Ken said. "We can't go on like this, can we? Maybe you're right, TK. Maybe it's best if they go back to the Digital World."

"Now wait a second, guys!" Davis cut in. "I'll admit that these first few days haven't been what we'd hope they'd be. But we can't just let the Digimon go back. They deserve to be here with us. And I don't know about you guys, but I have confidence in them. I'm sure they can keep from being seen by anyone else. I'm letting Veemon stay."

"You're sure about this?" TK asked skeptically.

"Have I ever been wrong before?" Davis asked.

"Do you really want me to answer that?" TK grinned.

Davis frowned. "No."

"Maybe you have a point, Davis," Ken admitted. "And I think Matt's right. We just have to be a little more careful. As long as the Digimon don't leave the room, everything should be fine…hopefully."

"Well you can guys can keep talking about this, but I'm going to bed," Davis yawned.

"Why so early?" TK asked. "It's only 11 o'clock."

"I think I speak for everyone when I say that this has been a really long day," Davis answered. "And I know tomorrow will go a lot better, because tomorrow night's my date with Kari."

TK sighed deeply. "Can't forget that now, can we?"

"I don't know what you're complaining about," Ken smirked. "Didn't you just make a date of your own for Saturday night?"

"Huh? Now hold on, Ken. I wouldn't call that a date."

"You're both going out to dinner alone," Davis pointed out. "I don't know what YOU call that, but I'd call it a date."

"It's NOT a date!" TK snapped.

Ken and Davis just smirked.

TK sighed deeply. "Ok, maybe it IS a date." Then he shook it off. "And so what if it's a date? I need to start dating again, anyway. I can't keep thinking about Kari forever. Besides, if she's moving on, why can't I?"

"That's the spirit, TK!" Ken grinned. "Move on with your life. Make the best of your night with Catherine. And don't even t think about Kari. You'll probably have it a lot better than she does."

Davis cleared his throat. "Ahem…"

Ken sweatdropped. "Oh…I mean…you'll both have it…EQUALLY as good. Uh…yeah."

Davis shrugged and started getting ready for bed. The Digimon were also getting tired, just from seeing Davis yawn, and started getting ready to sleep. Veemon went over to the closet, Wormmon went over to his dresser drawer, and Patamon sat by the foot of TK's bed.

Tomorrow would be a new day. One Davis was looking more than forward to.

* * *

Takato and Henry sat side-by-side on the floor and looked over at Terriermon and Guilmon, who were hanging their heads down shamefully. Takato couldn't take his eyes off of them after the near- disaster that took place.

"You never DID answer my question, Terriermon," Henry said.

Terriermon blinked. "You asked me a question?"

"Before TK, Ken, and Davis came in," Henry continued. "I asked you why you were in their room in the first place. Why WERE you in their room?"

Terriermon frowned. "Aw Henry, I really don't want to say…"

"Yeah, Terriermon," Guilmon cut in. "Tell us why you were in their room."

"Oh shut up!" Terriermon snapped. "You're a BIG help!"

"Terriermon, why were you in their room?" Henry asked again.

"Uh…well…um…I…might have gone in there to…pull a prank."

"WHAT?!"

"I didn't know I'd get caught. It's not my fault."

"WHY were you going to pull a prank on them? I thought I said NO PRANKS!"

"No, you told KAZU AND KENTA 'no pranks'," Terriermon pointed out. "You didn't say anything about me." He flinched when he saw that Henry wasn't amused. "Uh…I guess you meant no pranks from anyone, right?"

"Right!" Henry growled.

"But why pull a prank, Terriermon?" Takato asked curiously.

"We did it for you, Takato," Terriermon answered.

"We?" Guilmon repeated.

"It was Kazu and Kenta who came up with the prank. They were as much a part of this as I was."

"Really? What were they planning to do?" Takato asked.

Terriermon walked over and whispered the whole twisted plan into Takato's ear. And just the sheer twisted nature of it got Takato snickering.

"That's pretty good," Takato admitted. "That sounds kinda funny, actually."

"What is it?" Henry asked.

Takato leaned over and whispered the whole thing in Henry's ear. Even Henry was starting to laugh at the sound of this prank.

"That IS pretty good," Henry smiled. Then he grew serious again. "But you can't be doing this sort of thing, Terriermon. I told you that I don't want us making enemies this early in the year."

"Ok, I'm sorry, Henry."

"You've got to give credit to Kazu and Kenta," Takato said cheerfully. "That's pretty creative. But what I don't understand is, why do it to them?"

"Because we wanted to get back at Davis for hitting you so many times," Terriermon answered. "Those couldn't have ALL been accidents."

"Believe or not, they were," Takato replied. "Trust me, I've gotten to know Davis and…he's kinda clumsy."

"KINDA?!"

"Well…ok, he's a klutz. But he doesn't do these things on purpose. I'm not mad at him and neither should you, Terriermon."

Terriermon huffed. "Ok, fine! But only because you and Henry both seem to like this guy."

Suddenly, the phone rang. The conversation was cut a little short as Takato got up to answer the phone.

"Hello?"

_"Hi Takato!"_

"Hi Jeri! Your room still in one piece?"

_"For the most part. Rika and Kari have spent the whole time since we got back laying down ground rules for Renamon and Gatomon. You'd be surprised how much those two seem to hate each other."_

"I'm sure that's their business. I wouldn't want to get in the middle of that."

_"Me neither. In fact, I don't want to be playing peacekeeper here with Rika tomorrow night."_

"What do you mean?"

_"Kari and Davis are going out on a date. And…it's not that I want to abandon Rika, but…I WOULD like to get out of this dorm Friday night."_

Takato knew Jeri was subtly hinting that she wanted to go out tomorrow night. He could sense that she was just stringing him along through this phone call.

"Did you want to do something tomorrow night, Jeri?"

_"Well…I did have an idea. But…it might not be what you think it is."_

"What is it?"

_"I was hoping you and I could wheel Guilmon around in a shopping cart, like we used to do when we were younger. I'm sure Guilmon would love the chance to get some fresh air, too."_

Takato liked that suggestion. "That's not a bad idea. I guess it'd be just like old times. Besides, I'm sure Rika can keep order on her own. Or if not, maybe Henry could help her out."

"Huh?" Henry asked, unaware of what unenviable task he was being volunteered for.

"Then we'll go out tomorrow, Takato? Walking Guilmon along under the stars?"

"Uh…whatever you say, Jeri."

_"Great! I'll see you tomorrow night! Bye Takato!"_

Jeri sounded so excited as she hung up. It took a while for Takato to absorb what just happened. But apparently, he had a date tomorrow night. It was an ODD sort of date, since no normal person would consider walking a Digimon in a shopping cart a date, but it was a date, nonetheless.

"What happened?" Henry asked.

Takato blushed. "I…have a date."

  


Next Week: We skip ahead to Friday night. Davis and Kari are ready to go out on their first date together. Takato and Jeri are about to have a date of their own. But there's a huge fly in ointment. Will the night go as hoped, or will disaster strike? Meanwhile at the university, something mysterious is running around in The Den. The older DigiDestined begin to think it's one of the school's urban legends coming to life and they decide to share with the freshmen…the Legend of the OU Phantasm! The undercover Hypnos crew, however, get other ideas. But what IS running around The Den? Find out on the next Digimon: The College Years!

  


Any comments? Then mail me at AmericanCaptor@hotmail.com and don't forget to review below!


	9. Urban Legends

Last Time: A floor meeting took place in the 4th floor lounge in which the DigiDestined and the Tamers got to know each other just a little bit. Information was exchanged and Izzy even ended up with the opportunity to study a D-Arc and a Blue Card, which he'll do along with Joe and Cody during the weekend. Patamon and Terriermon were willing to make up, but the same can't be said for Renamon and Gatomon. So the basic ground rule was established: First to show physical hostility towards the other must leave. But now that this rough day's over, Davis wants to get ready for his date with Kari. He isn't the only one with a date, though, because Takato and Jeri are also going out Friday night…walking Guilmon in a shopping cart.

  


**Digimon: The College Years**

Episode 9- Urban Legends

  


After a long day of classes, Friday night was here. And for Rika, her Friday night could stand to get a lot better. She knew that Kari was getting ready to go out on a date and she wouldn't be able to help maintain peace between Gatomon and Renamon. For all she knew, it would just be her and Jeri.

"OW! Jeri, be careful!" Kari cried from the other side of the room. "I want to have both my eyebrows intact for my date with Davis."

"You just have to hold still, Kari," Jeri said. "Your eyebrows are pretty thick, but if you hold still, I can be done in a few minutes."

There they went again. Kari and Jeri were off being girly again. Rika just shrugged. If Kari wanted to go out with that klutz, that was her own business. If anything, Rika would just be happy to have her away for the night. In the few days she had known her, Rika didn't find anything she could like about this girl.

A few minutes later, Jeri was done doing Kari's eyebrows. Jeri held up a mirror for Kari to see herself. Her face brightened.

"I love it, Jeri! Rika, how do I look?"

Rika turned her head to look at her sickeningly cheerful roommate. Kari nodded slowly, trying to get Rika to say something. But Rika just shrugged.

"What? You look the same."

Kari frowned. "Oh…"

Jeri scoffed. "Don't listen to her, Kari. Rika's the type of girl who never notices those types of things. You look great!"

Kari's face lit up again. "You think so?"

"Of course I do! And I'm sure Davis will notice, too."

Rika turned back around. She was getting the urge to go out herself since she felt like she was suffocating in this room. The combined factors of Jeri and Kari's extreme femininity and Gatomon and Renamon's friction were getting to be too much for Rika.

Kari got to her feet. "I'd better get ready for my date. It's almost 6:30."

Jeri gasped. "I'd better get ready for MY date!"

That got Rika's attention. "Wait a minute! YOU have a date?"

"I'm going out with Takato," Jeri said matter-of-factly. "We're taking Guilmon for a stroll."

Rika's ire was rising. She took Jeri by the hand. "Jeri, can I see you OVER HERE?"

"Sure thing," Jeri grinned. "I think Kari needs to get ready anyway."

"You're right, she does," Kari grinned. "I'd better get in the shower. Be right back."

Kari took her towel and headed out the door to get in the shower. Rika thought she had Jeri alone, but eyed Renamon. Renamon took the hint and went invisible. Then Rika shot Gatomon a stare.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm going," Gatomon muttered. She walked into the closet and shut the door.

Rika finally focused on Jeri. "You CANNOT leave me alone to babysit those two! What am I supposed to do?!"

"Rika, I'm sure you'll do just fine," Jeri said confidently. "They know they can't touch each other. Trust me, you'll be fine."

"Jeri, don't leave me here alone…"

"You're a very strong woman, Rika. I doubt anyone else could handle this job, but I don't doubt you for a second. If anyone could take on a tough task like watching Gatomon and Renamon, it's you."

"That kind of kissing up might work for the goggle head, but it doesn't work on me," Rika growled.

Jeri sighed. "You're right. I knew you were too smart to fall for that."

Rika nodded. "Exactly, that's what…STOP THAT! You're still doing it!"

"Please say yes, Rika!" Jeri pleaded. "I really want to see Takato tonight. We might have something after tonight."

Rika sighed. "You owe me."

"Thanks, Rika! I'd better get ready now."

Jeri got up and grabbed a towel of her own to go take a shower. Rika couldn't believe she was forced to watch over these two feuding Digimon. She wanted to be anywhere but there.

For Rika, Friday night wasn't looking so good.

* * *

Davis carefully looked in the mirror again. He didn't want a single hair to be out of place and he didn't want a single flaw on his face.

"Davish? You've been looking in the mirror for over an hour."

"Wait, Veemon," TK whispered. "You might blow his intense concentration. His goggles could be out of place by half an inch."

Davis wasn't even listening. He stared right in the mirror and continued to fix his face. He wanted everything to be perfect for tonight's date…the date he had been waiting so many years for. His date with Kari Kamiya.

Ken suddenly walked through the door and saw Davis. "Is he still at it?"

"I didn't think anybody could look in a mirror for so long," Patamon replied. "Maybe Davis is just pumping himself up. He looks really focused."

Finally, Davis stopped looking in the mirror. He was convinced that he was good to go. He turned back around and sighed deeply.

"Well, guys…how do I look?"

Ken gave the thumbs up. "You look good."

Davis frowned. "Good? That's it?"

TK sighed. "You look GREAT, Davis."

Davis perked up. "Ok, I feel better. I'm ready to go! I can't wait! Uh…someone show me to the door!"

Ken opened the door. "This way, Davis!"

Davis closed his eyes and headed out the door. "AAAAAAHHHH!!!"

Davis ran out the door and started running down the hall. He made a beeline for the stairs. Unfortunately, he still had his eyes closed. All he heard was Ken whistle.

"Davis! Stairs are that way!"

Davis stopped in his tracks and opened his eyes. Indeed, he was going the wrong way. So Davis did an about-face, closed his eyes, screamed again, and headed for the stairs. Unfortunately, he didn't watch where he was going and…

****CRASH****

"HEY!"

…he crashed right into Takato, who happened to be walking out of his room at the same moment.

Takato sat up. "DAVIS!!"

Davis flinched. "Sorry. I guess I'd better watch where I'm going." Rather than risk seeing Takato angry, Davis got up and headed for the stairs. "Gotta go!"

Never did a staircase seem so long. Davis wanted to hurry and climb up. He was in such a hurry that he nearly knocked over Jeri, who was coming down the stairs at the same time. He had to hurry. He couldn't wait anymore.

Davis was in a hurry…because he was about to go on his first date with Kari Kamiya.

* * *

Takato shook off the cobwebs and got to his feet. He kept reminding himself that Davis wasn't doing these things on purpose. But he was awfully clumsy and Takato couldn't help but feel that he had the worst luck of any of the freshmen.

"Takato?"

He didn't get the chance to dust himself off, however, because Jeri had already arrived. And that meant it was time for them to go out on their date.

"Hi Jeri!"

"I heard you yelling. What happened this time?"

"Nothing," Takato muttered. "Just another minor run-in with Davis. No big deal at all."

"Ok then. Are you ready?"

Guilmon stuck his head out the door. "Ready as I'll ever be."

"Guilmon!" Takato snapped silently.

"Oh sorry, Takato."

Guilmon went into his stuffed animal act, freezing in place. Takato lifted the heavy Digimon over his shoulders and started carrying him out with Jeri by his side. They were ready to have a night they wouldn't forget for a long time.

* * *

Kari was feeling nervous. Only now was it starting to sink in that she was about to go out on her first date…since she broke up with TK. This was a huge step. She didn't know if she could handle it. But it was too late to think about that…because someone knocked on her door. Kari hesitated. She stood still. She didn't know if she could bring herself to open it. He knocked again and Kari felt herself freeze.

"What are you waiting for?" Rika snapped. "Just open it!"

Kari shook it all off and reached over to open the door. And there was Davis Motomiya in his casually formal attire. Davis was the next one to freeze. He froze as soon as he saw Kari's pink dress that went down to her knees.

He smiled dreamily. "You look great."

Kari blushed. "Thanks."

Kari was wrapped up in this brief exchange. She couldn't make out the sound of gagging in the background.

"You ready?" Davis asked slowly.

Kari nodded. "Yeah, let's go."

While not quite in the state that Davis was in, Kari was still looking forward to tonight's dinner. Since Davis wasn't moving, Kari made the assertive move and started leading him by the hand.

The night had just begun.

* * *

Rika just watched as Kari walked out with Davis. She wasn't envious of her in the least after hearing the stories she heard about him. If anything, Kari could have that clumsy oaf all to herself. She had other things to worry about. She had to babysit for Gatomon and Renamon, who were being peaceful…for the moment.

That's when someone knocked on the door. She answered the door and saw that she might have some backup on this night. It was Henry Wong and Terriermon…and they looked a little less than thrilled to be there.

"Can I help you?" Rika muttered.

"Takato suggested I come help you keep order," Henry sighed.

"He owes us big time for this," Terriermon added.

"Well, you two might have an easier time with this than you think," Rika said. "So far, they've managed to keep to themselves…sort of."

Henry and Terriermon turned to the beds, where Renamon and Gatomon were both sitting with sour expressions. Looking a little curious over the situation, Terriermon jumped off Henry's shoulder and waltzed over to them.

"So…how's everything going?"

Renamon and Gatomon just turned away from each other. Terriermon sweatdropped. But then it appeared that he had an idea. He walked over to Rika's fridge and took out a bowl of pudding. He stood between the beds and started eating.

"You know, nothing gets me in a better mood than something sweet," Terriermon began. "Why don't you two have some pudding to calm you down."

Rika shook her head. It all seemed like a simple solution. Try to find a common interest between the two. But this sounded a little TOO simple. She couldn't help but be a little skeptical.

Terriermon handed the two Digimon a spoon and held up the bowl. Both of them took a scoop and held it in front of their faces. Gatomon ate first and savored the taste before swallowing. It looked like she liked it. But Renamon didn't quite taste it. Instead, she flicked her spoon, sending the pudding flying into Gatomon's face. Gatomon cleared her face of the pudding and snarled.

"Sorry, it slipped," Renamon said smugly.

Gatomon looked like she was about to lunge for Renamon, but restrained herself. She knew that if she threw the first punch, she'd have to leave. But she didn't take Renamon's taunting lying down. She reached down for a bottle of water that was lying on the ground.

"You look thirsty. Have a drink!"

The water splashed onto Renamon. Rika's eyes widened, because the water on Renamon dripped onto HER bed. Renamon turned beet red and tried to lunge for Gatomon, but Gatomon just grinned.

"Ah-ah-ah…can't touch me. You wouldn't want to be on the road back home, would you, Foxy?"

"I told you NOT to call me FOXY!" Renamon yelled.

Terriermon threw his hands up in the air. "HEY! Can't we all just get along?"

"NO!!" both Renamon and Gatomon snapped. Terriermon flinched.

Rika frowned. "You see what I have to deal with?"

"Need some time alone?" Henry suggested.

"Oh you'd LOVE to get out of this," Rika growled. "Well it's too bad. You're helping me! I'm not doing this alone."

Henry sighed. "It's times like this I wish Ryo was around."

A vein popped out of Rika's head. She grabbed a pillow and nailed Henry over the head with it. "I told you to NEVER, EVER mention his name around me!"

Henry rubbed his head painfully. "I can't believe you're still THAT sensitive over…"

Rika shot Henry a cold stare. "Henry, I'm warning you! Don't go there!"

Luckily (for Henry), before things could escalate, someone else knocked on the door. Rika walked over to answer it and saw her two RA's, Sora and Mimi. Mimi looked into the room and gasped.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Rika. I didn't realize you were alone with your boyfriend."

Rika raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

"That…isn't your boyfriend?"

"Henry Wong? My boyfriend? You think Henry Wong is my…?"

For the first time since she arrived at Odaiba University…Rika smiled…and started laughing. She had heard of people mistaking her and Takato for a couple, but it wasn't often that people mistook her and Henry. She found it rather funny.

Henry didn't. "I don't find anything funny about that, do you, Terriermon?"

"You WERE voted Shinjuku High's Most Eligible Bachelor," Terriermon pointed out. "I guess no one told Rika."

Rika smiled and finally contained her laughter. "Thanks, you two. You made my night with that comment. So what's going on?"

"We've got a little something down in the first floor in Tai and Matt's room," Sora answered. "If you two aren't doing anything, we'd like to give you two an update on the situation at The Den."

Rika remembered hearing that The Den was closed. "Update?"

"Come on down and find out," Mimi grinned.

With that, the RA's left. Rika turned around and saw this as the solution to her problem. She wouldn't have to babysit Renamon and Gatomon alone with Henry and Terriermon. Her night's work was over.

So she cheerfully headed out the door. "You guys coming?"

* * *

It wasn't until Davis left that TK was starting to realize that…there was nothing to do on this Friday night. He couldn't believe that he was about to spend his first Friday night in college…with Ken.

"So…any ideas what to do?" TK asked.

"I don't know," Ken sighed. "I'm sure we'll think of something."

Just then, someone knocked on the door. TK could only hope that it was someone with something to do. Ken walked over to answer it and he was pretty happy to see Yolei.

"You guys bored too?" Yolei asked.

"You bet," Ken concurred. "But where's Catherine?"

"She said she had something to do tonight," Yolei answered. "Didn't say where she was going either. So I figured, 'do I know anyone who would be just as bored as I am?' and I immediately thought of you two."

TK blinked. "Thanks…I think."

"You want to get something to eat?" Ken asked.

"I tried eating already," Yolei answered. "But The Den closed early tonight. Didn't you guys hear?"

"Hear what?" TK asked curiously.

"There's supposedly something inside The Den," Yolei explained. "A lot of the food's missing. There are crumbs everywhere, so it's looking like something ate the food. Nobody has a single clue how the food got lost or even how anything could possibly break in there."

"My ears are burning," someone else said.

TK, Ken, and Yolei turned around to face the open door and see…

"You know about this, Matt?" TK asked.

Matt Ishida nodded. "I know this old story. As soon as we heard about what's happened in The Den, pretty much every upperclassman came to the same conclusion. It's…the OU Phantasm!"

TK scoffed. "What?"

Matt smirked. "What? You've never heard of the Legend of the OU Phantasm?"

Yolei thought about that. "I might have heard something like that in my freshman year. But that's just a silly story."

"There's nothing silly about it," Matt responded. "It's one of this school's biggest legends. I can't believe you guys haven't heard of it."

"What is this OU Phantasm?" Ken asked.

"Why don't you guys come up to my room and I'll explain the whole thing to you," Matt suggested. "I might need some help with this one."

Matt walked out leaving TK, Ken, and Yolei alone. They all exchanged looks…skeptical looks.

"He can't be serious," TK scoffed.

"We got nothing better to do," Ken shrugged. "Might as well hear an urban legend."

* * *

"The room's empty. And we've got no plans for tomorrow. You know what that means, right?"

After a moment of hesitation, Kazu looked at Kenta and raised an eyebrow. The answer should have been so obvious, yet Kenta seemed to be stalling.

"Uh…what DOES that mean?" Kenta asked.

Kazu groaned. "It means we can move Guardromon in here! And it'll be a whole day's worth of work. So we'll both be busy tomorrow. You think we can fit him in the back of the van?"

"Hope so," Kenta sighed. "But that's not our biggest problem. Guardromon's pretty big. How do we get him through the door?"

"The same way we got him through the door in my room," Kazu grinned.

"Kazu, don't tell me we're doing that again," Kenta groaned. "It was hard enough doing that the first time."

Kazu walked over and opened the door. "We'll talk about it while we get something to eat at The Den."

"You guys say you were heading to The Den?" someone else asked.

Kazu looked over to see that RA, Tai Kamiya, with the poofy hair. "Yeah. You want us to bring you something back?"

"Uh…not exactly. The Den closed early tonight. Didn't you guys hear?"

"Hear what?" Kenta asked.

"There's something running around inside The Den. It's been eating all the food and nobody can tell what it is. Nobody even knows how it got in there. But the upperclassmen know."

"What is it?" Kazu asked.

"It's…the OU Phantasm."

"The what?" Kazu and Kenta both muttered skeptically.

"You've never heard of it?" Tai asked. "Oh, that's right. You guys are freshmen. Why don't you guys drop by my room and I'll tell you about it. The other RA's and I are about to tell the story anyway."

Kazu turned to Kenta. "We've got nothing better to do tonight."

Kenta nodded. "Let's go."

Tai led the way as Kazu and Kenta followed him up towards the 4th floor lounge. Kazu was eager to hear about this OU Phantasm, even if it DID sound like a bunch of nonsense. He was always up for an old ghost story.

* * *

Takato pushed the shopping cart down the park's walkway, making sure to give Guilmon a fun ride. Even after all these years, Guilmon still got a kick out of riding inside a shopping cart. And Takato was having a good time, himself. So was Jeri.

Takato looked down and saw a downward slope. "Ready for REAL ride, Guilmon?"

Guilmon nodded eagerly. "Ready, Takatomon!"

"And…GO!"

Takato pushed the cart over the hill and it quickly picked up momentum. The cart continued rolling along and Takato and Jeri both happily gave chase. The cart kept rolling until it slowed down and gingerly tapped a tree in its path. Takato and Jeri both stopped by the cart and as they panted to catch their breath, they looked at each other and smiled.

But suddenly, the happy moment was ruined by the sound of beeping. It was the sound of Jeri's pager. Jeri looked at it and frowned.

"Why now?" she moaned. "Takato, I have to go."

"But we were having so much fun," Takato said disappointedly.

"I was having fun, too. But…I need to go. I'll…be back on campus a little later."

Takato smiled. "Then I'll see you back on campus?"

Jeri nodded. "Of course!"

She looked around and hesitated before making a bold move. Jeri leaned over and kissed Takato on the cheek. Takato, clearly taken by surprise, blushed.

Jeri turned away. "I'm sorry. I…shouldn't have done that. I'd better go."

More than anything, Takato wished he could have returned the gesture. Jeri had been his friend for many years and he had always considered her one of his closest friends, even AFTER she moved away from West Shinjuku following the D-Reaper incident. He wished he could have gotten the courage to give her a kiss on the cheek. He actually wished he could have done a little more.

But instead, he did the other alternative.

Nothing.

Takato only stood there as he watched Jeri walk away. She probably felt bad about what she had just done and he didn't want her to. He liked the kiss. He wanted to give her one of his own. Instead, he just stood there frozen.

"Takato? Are you ok?" Guilmon asked.

Takato nodded slowly. "Yeah. Great."

Not knowing what else to do, Takato just grabbed the edge of the shopping cart and started pushing it slowly down the walkway. The night was still young and even if Jeri was gone, Takato was still there with his other close friend.

He was still there with Guilmon.

* * *

TK took a seat in the middle of the 4th floor lounge. And it was quickly getting crowded. He was there with Ken, Yolei, and Henry. Henry had Terriermon with him and TK and Ken brought Patamon and Wormmon. Rika was also there and she was sitting between Gatomon and Renamon. Matt was up in the lounge along with Sora and Mimi. It looked like they weren't kidding about needing more than one person to tell the story about this OU Phantasm.

"I'm really curious about this, Matt," TK said. "What are we waiting for?"

"One more person," Matt answered.

And sure enough, there came Tai. But Tai wasn't alone. He had Kazu and Kenta with him. TK's first instinct was to have Patamon go into his stuffed animal act. But he was surprised to see Terriermon casually wave.

"Hey guys!"

Kazu and Kenta waved back. "Hey Terriermon!"

Tai stopped in his tracks and turned to Kazu and Kenta. "You two know about him?"

"Kazu and Kenta are cool," Terriermon said nonchalantly. "They're also Tamers. And we told them all about the floor meeting, so they know about you guys, too."

"You two are Tamers?" Tai asked. "You two must hide your Digimon well. Because I didn't see anything."

"Mine's not here," Kazu replied. "He's still at home."

"And mine's pretty small," Kenta added. He opened up his coat and a small Digimon flew out of the pocket. "This is MarineAngemon." MarineAngemon waved cheerfully. "He doesn't say much. He's kind of a mute."

"Just how many of you Tamers are there?" Matt asked.

"Eight," Henry answered. "There's us four here, Takato, there used to be Jeri, my little sister, and…"

Henry paused as soon as he saw Rika shooting him a cold glare.

"…and someone whose name escapes me at the moment."

"Nice meeting two more Tamers," Tai nodded. "But we'll get more acquainted a little later. Right now…we have a legend to share. Sora? Lights?"

Sora turned out the lights. Mimi passed a flashlight over to Tai. And Tai flashed the light on his face, just like as if they were sharing ghost stories.

Tai go the ball rolling. "There was once a student here at Odaiba University. He was a senior, a lot like me and Matt and Sora. He was just a few days away from graduating. He had just gotten engaged and he had a great job waiting for him as soon as he graduated. He had a pretty good life. At least I don't think it could have gotten any better."

Matt took the flashlight next. "But then things started going wrong. His family was involved in a tragic car accident and they all died, except for his mother who was permanently blind and paralyzed. His fiancée was taking a flight to the United States, but the plane crashed in the middle of the ocean and she was never found. And the company that offered him a job after he graduated just went bankrupt and went out of business. He was still a few days away from graduating, but he didn't have anything going for him anymore."

Mimi then took the flashlight. "His friends tried to reach him, but he kept himself isolated. He went to the only place that would make him feel better. He decided to go to The Den and drown his sorrows in food. He sat in the corner and no one bothered to reach out to him. Hardly anybody noticed he was there, because a few hours later, The Den closed with him inside. He was stuck."

Sora took the flashlight. "The next morning, everyone went out to look for him inside The Den. But there was nobody there. He had completely disappeared without a trace and everyone assumed he was dead. But another day later, when everyone went back to The Den, the food was gone. There were crumbs everywhere and wrappers all over the place. The food had been eaten, but there was no trace of any signs of life. Everyone began to think it was him, still drowning his sorrows in food from The Den from beyond the grave. He didn't even have a name anymore. Now he was just known as the OU Phantasm."

Tai took the flashlight again. "After a while, it finally stopped. Everyone began to think he had just decided to rest in peace. But now with what's been happening lately, we all know that the OU Phantasm is back…and haunting The Den again."

Silence.

TK snickered. "Are you kidding me?"

"Matt, your little brother's laughing," Tai muttered dryly.

"I sense you don't believe in the legend?" Matt asked.

"I think it's obvious that I don't," TK grinned.

"I agree with TK on this one," Rika added. "Come on now, a phantasm? That's ridiculous."

Tai glared at the freshmen. "Any other non-believers?"

Every single freshman hand in the room went up…and so did Yolei's.

Mimi shook her head. "Yolei, you don't believe in it, either?"

"It just sounds silly. I can't really say I buy the whole thing."

Sora sighed. "They'll pick it up eventually. It's one of the school's most well-known legends."

"Just because it's well-known doesn't make it any less hokey," TK smirked.

Tai shook his head. "Alright, that's it! All underclassmen clear out! Go back to your rooms and…do whatever it is you were planning to do tonight."

TK could tell that the RA's were a little hurt that this urban legend wasn't being taken so seriously. But TK knew that it was all so nonsensical, anyway.

TK started heading down the stairs, but was quickly joined up by Ken and Henry.

"Can you believe those guys?" TK chuckled. "OU Phantasm…that's funny."

"So what do you think IS haunting The Den?" Henry asked.

TK didn't know himself, but he had one guess.

"Can you say 'rats'?"

* * *

The time was here. The Digimon Empress was standing alone in an alley and awaiting for her communicator to go off. There was an evil Digimon waiting for the chance to bring about destruction to this city and she couldn't wait to see it. Finally, after she had just about lost all patience, the communicator in her pocket went off.

The Digimon Empress quickly answered it. "It's about time!"

"Sometimes you can be just as impatient as Puppetmon," Datamon said from the other end. "Tuskmon is ready to go. Be prepared, for I am about to test my Digital Field generator. It's homed into the frequency of your communicator. Just hold it out."

The Digimon Empress held out her communicator and a Digital Field began to form in front of her. The big green Digimon with the striped horns began to come out into the real world. The Digital Field generator worked, as Tuskmon was now here. But The Digimon Empress couldn't help but notice something on top of his head.

"What's this?" she asked curiously.

"That's a camera," Datamon answered. "We wish to get a birds-eye view of the destruction of the city AND of the DigiDestined, if possible. HEY! Watch it!"

"You aren't the only one who should be having all the fun!" Puppetmon growled into the communicator. "We wanna watch! Now get out there and give us all a good show."

The Digimon Empress chuckled. "I'll do that." She closed the communicator and looked up at Tuskmon. "You heard him! Get out there! Give this town a Friday night it'll never forget!"

Tuskmon roared and headed down the alley, scratching the walls with his horns along the way. The Digimon Empress was in for a show and she decided to go and get a better view.

This would be fun.

* * *

Davis was having a great time. Not only was the food at the restaurant ten times better than anything at The Den, but he was also eating with the girl of his dreams. The other thing that made him feel good was that Kari seemed to be enjoying herself, too. Davis knew the best way to top off this night and that was to go take a walk in the park.

Kari started twitching. "Davis…do you see a bathroom anywhere?"

Davis pointed at the nearby restrooms. "Over there."

Kari looked like she had been holding it in for a while. "Thanks. Be right back."

Kari rushed to the bathroom, leaving Davis by himself. Davis decided to take this opportunity to check and see how he was doing. He pulled out a small mirror from his pocket, which he kept in case of emergencies, and checked his hair. Not one hair was out of place. Then he checked to see if there was any food between his teeth, which there were none. Then there was the concern of his breath. He checked his pockets, but was distressed to discover that he didn't have any breath mints.

Suddenly, a blue hand reached out of the bushes with a stick of mint gum. "Here you go, Davish!"

Davis sweatdropped and looked in the bush. "Veemon! What are you doing here?!"

"I snuck out when everyone wasn't looking. I wanted to see you in action. And you've been doing great so far! I think she really likes you."

"You think so?"

"Of course I do! This night has been perfect, Davish. You haven't made yourself look stupid once and you've been a perfect gentleman."

Davis thought about that. "You're right. I've taken her out to dinner. I opened every door, pulled every chair out for her, and offered her the first chance to order. I didn't spill my food once and I actually didn't spill on anyone. I feel good. I've done everything right! I feel like nothing can go wrong!"

Unfortunately, that's when things started to go wrong. Davis and Veemon both heard a crowd of people in the distance start running away in terror. They didn't know why at first, but that's when Davis saw what was wrong. There was a giant creature roaming the streets. It was a Digimon.

"That's a big Digimon!" Veemon exclaimed.

"How did that thing get downtown?!" Davis shouted.

"I don't know, but you know what we have to do," Veemon answered.

The last thing Davis expected on this night was to be fighting a big Digimon. But yet here he was. So Davis pointed towards the horned creature and Veemon was off and running.

"Vee Headbutt!"

Veemon tried to strike the giant creature in his leg, but it didn't faze him at all. Dazed, the little blue Digimon fell back.

"I'm thinking we need something bigger," Davis noted.

Veemon shook off the cobwebs and got to his feet. "I hear you, Davish!"

****Veemon…Digivolve to…ExVeemon!****

The much-bigger ExVeemon stepped over in front of the big green Digimon. "Hey you! Now you can pick on someone your own size!"

The big Digimon rushed forward to try and tackle ExVeemon, but the champion ExVeemon held his ground. There was a brief stalemate before the next blow was landed.

"XV-Punch!"

ExVeemon landed a furious punch that sent the Digimon with the striped horns flying back. But he quickly recovered and rushed forward again. It didn't look like he'd go down easily.

Davis couldn't imagine things going anymore awry. But that's when Kari came out of the bathroom.

Kari looked up at the two fighting Digimon. "How long was I in there?"

* * *

Puppetmon was enjoying this show he was seeing on the base's large monitor. There was nothing he liked better than seeing two Digimon just go at it. He had to give Datamon credit for creating his ingenious camera on top of Tuskmon's head.

"This is great!" Puppetmon shouted. "This is better than some of my favorite shows! Who says there's nothing good on TV?"

Datamon looked at the big blue Digimon facing off with Tuskmon. "That looks like one of the new ones our Digimon Empress told us about. It looks like we've run into one of the new DigiDestined."

"He doesn't look so tough!" Puppetmon scoffed.

Puppetmon got a birds-eye view of Tuskmon unleashing an attack of his own.

"Horn Buster!"

Tuskmon attacked and the big blue Digimon known as ExVeemon was knocked into one of the buildings. Puppetmon couldn't help but laugh manically at the senseless destruction these two were causing the city.

"This is fun!" Puppetmon squealed.

"Hey…what's that over there?" Datamon asked.

Puppetmon stopped his laughing long enough to look at the monitor. There was something else off in the distance.

It looked like someone wheeling up…a shopping cart.

* * *

Davis couldn't believe how long this fight was going. ExVeemon wasn't having it easy with this Digimon. In fact, he was struggling. Davis wished he could do something, but Kari was holding him back. There was nothing he could do.

"Davis? What's going on?"

Davis and Kari turned around to see Takato walk up to them, with Guilmon in a shopping cart. Davis and Kari just pointed at the big Digimon that was fighting ExVeemon.

Takato took out his Digivice and pointed it at the big Digimon. "Hmm…Tuskmon, champion level. His main attack is Horn Buster. Where did he come from?"

"That's a good question," Kari replied. "We don't know HOW he got here. But we have to get him back to the Digital World! But it doesn't look like ExVeemon is faring too well."

Curious, Takato pointed his Digivice at ExVeemon. "Hmm…ExVeemon, champion level. I wouldn't want to get in the way of his Vee Laser attack. But he looks outmatched."

"He's just getting started!" Davis yelled. "Besides, it's not like you could help!"

Takato calmly took Guilmon out of the shopping cart. "We can help. Guilmon, you ready to show how Tamers battle?"

Guilmon nodded enthusiastically. "Ready!"

Guilmon charged towards the big Tuskmon and it looked like he'd be outmatched. But that's when Takato took out his Digivice and one of his cards.

"What's the card for?" Davis asked curiously.

"Watch and learn," Takato smirked. He swiped the card through the Digivice. "DigiModify! Digivolution activate!"

**Digivolution**

**Guilmon…Digivolve to…Growlmon!**

Davis's jaw dropped open when he saw Guilmon Digivolve at the simple slash of a card. Now there was a much bigger red lizard in place of Guilmon.

"What is that?" Davis asked in amazement.

"That's Growlmon," Takato said proudly. "A champion-level Digimon. Wait 'til you see what he can do. Growlmon! Do your stuff!"

Growlmon stepped over towards Tuskmon and grabbed him by the tail while ExVeemon wrestled with the green Digimon's head.

"Hey, nice to have a hand!" ExVeemon grunted. "Should we send him flying?"

"Let's do it!" Growlmon concurred.

ExVeemon and Growlmon both lifted Tuskmon high into the air and tossed him towards…one of the local shops.

"Don't throw him there!" Davis cried. "It'll take months to fix that!"

"We've got to send him back to the Digital World," Kari said. Then she looked over towards another block. "And I think I know how! Be right back!"

Kari ran over towards one of the shops, which luckily wasn't in the middle of the fray. "It's an Internet café! Can you lure him over here?"

Davis knew what Kari was suggesting. She was about to open a Digiport and send Tuskmon back where he came from. But Tuskmon had to be close enough to the port to be sent through. That would be up to ExVeemon and Growlmon.

Tuskmon ran at full speed and tackled Growlmon to the ground. Then he turned and got ready to attack ExVeemon. Davis was about to warn him, but Takato was one step ahead. He pulled out another card and swiped it through his Digivice.

"DigiModify! Hyperspeed activate!"

Tuskmon attacked. "Horn Buster!"

But before his attack could hit, Growlmon ran at blinding speed and moved ExVeemon out of harm's way. Davis was shocked.

"How did you do that?"

Takato grinned as he held up one of his cards. "It is in the cards."

"DAVIS!"

Davis looked over and saw that Kari was standing outside the Internet café. She was holding her Digivice out.

"Digiport open!"

The Digiport was open and it was a simple matter of sending Tuskmon through the Digiport. But now they had to get Tuskmon towards the port. For that, ExVeemon and Growlmon brought out the big guns.

"Vee Laser!"

"Pyro Blaster!"

Tuskmon was stunned by the sudden hits and was sent stumbling back towards the Internet café. And with the Digiport open, Tuskmon fell through and was sent back to the Digital World.

"All right!" Kari cheered. "That's the last we'll see of him." Then she walked over to Growlmon. "Wow! I've never seen anything like you before. And I thought I've seen just about every Digimon there is."

Takato nodded. "Yeah, that's Growlmon. He's totally one of a kind."

Seeing his work was done, ExVeemon devolved back into Veemon. Growlmon, on the other hand, didn't. He and Takato started walking off.

"Hey, where are you two going?" Davis asked.

"I wish going back to the rookie level was as easy for Growlmon…but it's not that simple. It's one of the downsides to being a Tamer. Come on, Growlmon. Let's get you standing on your head again."

"Aw, but that makes me dizzy, Takato," Growlmon whined.

"We can't go back on campus like this!" Takato shot back. "Now come on, let's go!"

Growlmon hung his head down and followed Takato towards an isolated area of the park. Veemon just waved cheerfully.

"Thanks for the help, guys!"

Davis leaned over Kari's shoulder and grinned. "Some date, huh?"

Kari wasn't in a jovial mood. "How did a Tuskmon get in our world? It doesn't make sense. Something's seriously wrong. Let's tell the others about this."

Without a second thought, Kari was heading back for the parking lot. Davis couldn't believe his rotten luck. The date had now become nothing more than an afterthought to Kari. But he had to admit that she did have a good point.

How DID a Tuskmon get into the real world?

* * *

The Digimon Empress watched from the rooftop of a building. She was disappointed that Tuskmon had failed in defeating ExVeemon and Growlmon. But all was not last. This battle was just beginning and when it was over, she was confident that she would have the last laugh.

The time was getting late. She had to go. But there would always be next time. And next time, she would not fail. Maybe it was time to use one of the Digimon under the influence of the Black Gears.

With that thought in mind, The Digimon Empress walked off into the shadows.

* * *

Ten minutes had passed and Growlmon still hadn't devolved back into Guilmon. Takato shook his head. It was never fast with this sort of thing. They never DID figure out the secret to devolving and it was always a pain in the neck once a battle was over. Yet, that was another thing that bothered Takato. Why WAS there a battle tonight. Digimon hadn't come into the real world since the disaster with the Devas. And that was five years ago.

"Takato?"

Takato's thoughts were instantly cleared. He turned around to see that Jeri had come back.

Jeri looked at Growlmon. "Takato, what happened?"

"There was a Digimon running loose through the city. Didn't you notice?"

"No, I had to attend…a meeting. You mean there was a Digimon here?"

Takato smiled. "Yeah, but we took care of him. If anything, this gave us a chance to show Davis and his Digimon what Tamers could do."

"That sounds great."

"Too bad I can't get Growlmon to go back to the rookie level the way Davis can get ExVeemon to go back to Veemon."

"It's ok, Takato," Jeri sighed. "Hey, the night's still young, right? It's only 11."

Takato blushed as Jeri took his hand. Jeri, seeing how close she was getting, quickly took it.

"I'm sorry," Jeri backtracked. "I didn't mean to…"

"No…it's ok."

Takato smiled as he reached over and held Jeri's hand. The night WAS still young. So the two young college freshmen just stood there, holding hands…while Growlmon stood on his head.

It was as good a Friday night as Takato could have hoped for.

* * *

Puppetmon sulked by the monitor. He continued watching it, since the camera was still on. He knew just where the Tuskmon was going and so did Datamon.

"He's almost here," he said.

And sure enough, a few seconds later, Tuskmon came wandering into the Server base. Puppetmon angrily got to his feet and reached for his hammer.

"They got lucky!" Tuskmon shouted. "Gimme another shot! I can take them!"

"I'll give you SOMETHING, alright!" Puppetmon growled. "Puppet Pummel!"

Puppetmon attacked with his Puppet Pummel, instantly deleting Tuskmon. There was nothing that ruined his fun more than failure, and Puppetmon wouldn't tolerate it.

Datamon shook his head. "Those cameras aren't cheap, you know! Please be more prudent in the future! Now I'll have to build another one!"

Puppetmon just huffed angrily. Those new DigiDestined made him angry, but there was also the issue of that other guy. That guy that called himself a Tamer. He didn't know what those were, but he could tell he would grow to despise them.

No matter. Their time is about to be up, anyway. Once Datamon finishes his machine to release The Dark One, then the REAL fun would begin.

* * *

Still in the teacher's lounge, Yamaki fumbled with his lighter again. Despite the late hours, he was still at the university and so were his two partners, who were both looking pretty tired. But there was no rest for the undercover Hypnos crew. With a potential mole out in Odaiba University somewhere, they would soon find the lounge to be their new home.

"We haven't found anything," Talley sighed. "Can we call it a day, sir?"

"The fate of the world may be at stake," Yamaki pointed out. "And you want to call it a day?"

"I think we should call it a day," Riley said. "The fate of the world may be at stake, but staying here past hours does us no good. We can't question anybody because everybody's gone home. At this rate, the other professors will get suspicious."

"How do you figure?" Yamaki asked.

"We can't be the last ones to leave everyday," Riley explained. "The others will start to think we're weird and wonder why we don't go home like normal people. We're already getting stares with our 'casual' interrogations. We don't need anything else to add to their suspicion. We wouldn't want our mole to be on to us."

Yamaki frowned. "I suppose you're right. I guess we'll call it a day and take a break."

Seeing that their day was over and they were finally able to relax, Talley reached over for the nearest remote control. She turned on the teacher's lounge's television. And Yamaki's jaw dropped open upon the first sight. It was a large green creature. It was a Digimon.

_"A monster was sighted in downtown Odaiba tonight, terrorizing the public and tearing through the streets. As you can see…it even tore through our camera."_

Sure enough, the Digimon's tail swung and knocked out the station's camera that was positioned on the ground. There was no more video footage.

_"While we have no further footage, the monster appears to be gone now. No witnesses were sighted in the area, but the city of Odaiba can now rest easy knowing that the monster attack is apparently over."_

Yamaki fumbled with his lighter again. He began to weigh the ramifications of what this meant. Time was now running shorter. The attacks have begun and he could feel that this wouldn't be the last one. There was no time to lose. He knew that he and his partners would have to work faster.

"It has begun."

* * *

Davis grumbled as he reached the door to his dorm room. He couldn't believe how his date with Kari could have possibly taken such a lousy turn. And for once, it wasn't even his fault that things went wrong.

Before he opened his door, Kari reached over and held his hand. "You know, Davis? Before the Tuskmon came and started going on a rampage…I was really having a good time. I'm wondering…you want to try again sometime?"

Davis smiled. "Of course, Kari!"

Kari giggled. "You know…maybe the night didn't go like I'd hoped…but maybe next time it'll go a little better."

Davis knew the one way this night could end perfectly. He reached over…to give Kari a kiss.

Unfortunately, Kari pulled away.

"You know, I feel pretty tired. Maybe the whole ordeal tired me out. I'd better get some sleep. Call me?"

Davis stopped in his tracks and just nodded. "Oh…sure."

Kari leaned over and kissed Davis on the cheek. "Thanks, Davis. Good night!"

Kari walked towards the stairs, leaving Davis by himself to think about what just happened. It was obvious what was going on. Kari was evidently still a little unsure about going the next step with anybody. He couldn't blame her. Even Davis believed that she and TK would last forever. After breaking up from such a wonderful relationship, it was natural that Kari would be a little scared of getting back into a serious relationship. Davis respected that.

Of course…he also vowed to make Kari's inhibitions go away…in time.

  


Next Week: It's Saturday and what a Saturday it is! Seeing no better opportunity, Kazu and Kenta go out to retrieve Guardromon. But who else do they recruit to help them? The Den is STILL under siege and no one knows what's haunting it. Is it up to Detective Ken Ichijouji to solve the Mystery of the OU Phantasm? And what happens…when Kari finds out that TK's about to go on a date with Catherine?! Find out on the next Digimon: The College Years!

  


Any comments? Then mail me at AmericanCaptor@hotmail.com and don't forget to review below!


	10. The Mystery of the OU Phantasm

Last Week: We got to hear one of Odaiba University's old urban legends, courtesy of the older DigiDestined. While the freshmen scoffed at the Legend of the OU Phantasm, that doesn't take away from the fact that there IS something haunting The Den. Takato and Jeri went out on a short date, wheeling Guilmon in a shopping cart, that was cut short when Jeri's pager went off. Meanwhile, Davis and Kari were having a date of their own, which was also cut short when The Digimon Empress brought Tuskmon into the real world. Veemon, who followed Davis and Kari, Digivolved into ExVeemon but was quickly joined by Takato and Guilmon. Guilmon Digivolved into Growlmon and, along with ExVeemon, sent Tuskmon back into the Digital World. Pretty eventful Friday night, no?

  


**Digimon: The College Years**

Episode 10- The Mystery of the OU Phantasm

  


Saturday was just getting started and Joe Kido was up bright and early to make his eight o'clock meeting. Going out for a Master's degree was never easy. Joe knew that, but he was willing to try anyway. He knew he had what it takes. Of course, time was running short and he was about to be late. And on this day, Joe was off and running, trying to get through the crowd of college students that were leisurely taking their time.

Joe turned the corner to get into the building he needed to get to, but he unexpectedly crashed into someone. Both of them dropped their books and belongings on the ground. What made things even worse was that Joe's bag fell open. Joe bent down to pick his things up and accidentally bumped heads with the other person.

Joe rubbed his head. "I'm sorry. I'm pretty clumsy. Let me help you with your stuff."

Joe scrambled to pick the woman's stuff up and when he stood up, he saw that the woman had a little something of Joe's in her hand.

"Is this your stuffed animal?" the woman asked.

Joe hesitated when he saw that the woman had picked up Gomamon. Especially since she seemed to staring right at him.

"Strange little thing," the woman noted. Then she put Gomamon down and grabbed her stuff. "Thank you so much, young man. You know, I feel like I've seen you before. Were you in the freshman residence hall the other night?"

"Oh…yeah, I was there. Do I know you?"

"Your friends might know me. I'm the hall's Resident Director, Layla Mackenzie."

Joe accepted the woman's handshake. "I'm Joe Kido. It's nice to meet you. And I'd love to talk, but I just remembered that I forgot to remember I'm late. Maybe I'll see you around."

Ms. Mackenzie smiled. "Maybe you will. Don't forget your stuffed animal, Joe."

Joe noticed that he nearly left Gomamon behind. So he quickly picked up and got on his way. Gomamon was getting heavier by the day, but he insisted on coming along every single day. He couldn't go on like this.

Maybe he'd talk with him when he got back.

* * *

Saturday morning was here and it couldn't come fast enough for Kazu. He was up bright and early (10 AM), knowing what he was going to do on this day. He was up and ready to go, but there was a simple matter of waking his roommate.

Kazu grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and splashed it on Kenta.

"AAAHHH!! KAZU!!"

"Time to get up!" Kazu grinned.

Kazu pulled the wet blankets off of Kenta and tossed them to the ground. He then walked over to Kenta's dresser drawer and opened it up.

"And that goes for you, too!"

MarineAngemon opened his eyes and shot Kazu a cold stare before turning around and lying down again. He was obviously as fast asleep as Kenta was.

Kazu picked up the sleeping MarineAngemon. "Come on! This might take us all day. So we've got to get an early start. Get up!"

"I'm up, I'm up!" Kenta growled. "Relax, Kazu. Guardromon isn't going anywhere. We have plenty of time."

"But I want to get back early. It's Saturday and I want to see what the night life here has to offer."

"Good point," Kenta agreed. "But do you really think we can get Guardromon in here? It'll take a lot of effort to get him out of your room, into the van, and into this dorm. It'll take…manpower."

As if on cue, someone knocked on the door. "Kazu? Kenta? It's Henry. Are you guys awake?"

Seeing what kind of opportunity this presented, Kazu eagerly opened the door. And there was Henry, with Terriermon on his shoulder.

"I wanted to ask if you guys had any extra forks. I can't believe Takato and I forgot to bring forks."

Kazu grinned. "Hey Henry…we're glad you're here. What are you doing today?"

Henry sweatdropped. "I know that tone. What do you guys want?"

"We need an extra pair of hands," Kazu answered. "Kenta and I are about to head off to get Guardromon. We could use some help and you and Terriermon would be perfect."

"What would we have to do?" Henry asked cautiously.

"Just help us carry Guardromon…how ever many pieces of him there are, anyway."

"That's it?"

"That's it. Nothing else."

Henry looked around to make sure the coast was clear. "What do you think, Terriermon?"

"I don't see any harm in it," the long-eared Digimon replied. "Let's do it."

Henry smiled. "You heard him. I guess we're in."

"All right!" Kazu exclaimed victoriously. "Then let's all get in the van!"

"Kazu…" Kenta cut in. "I need to change."

Kazu looked over to see that Kenta, who had just woken up, was still in his white t-shirt and sweatpants.

Kazu sweatdropped. "Oh…then…you change…THEN let's all get in the van!"

Kenta scowled. "A little privacy, please?"

Kazu nodded knowingly. "Oh…ok." He slammed the door in Henry's face. "Go ahead."

Of course, that wasn't the only thing Kenta had in mind. He shot Kazu a cold glare.

Kazu grinned sheepishly. "Oh…sorry."

He turned around while Kenta changed. Kazu just tapped his foot impatiently. The faster Kenta changed, the faster they could go get Guardromon.

* * *

The morning went by rather slowly. Everyone was up early, but they didn't go anywhere. Instead, this was the morning for Davis to tell TK and Ken what happened. Not only did he share what happened with Kari last night, but he also told them about what happened with the sudden appearance of Tuskmon.

"How did a Tuskmon get in the real world?" TK asked.

"I have no idea," Davis answered. "I was in the middle of my date and I suddenly see Tuskmon running through the streets. If Veemon hadn't snuck out to follow us, I don't know what I would have done."

"So Veemon Digivolved and took care of Tuskmon?" Ken asked.

"He Digivolved into ExVeemon, but…it wasn't just him. Takato showed up with Guilmon. And you should have seen Takato! His style's totally different than ours. He was swiping some of his cards through his Digivice to battle. He used a card slash to get Guilmon to Digivolve into Growlmon. I've never seen anything like it. And that other card he used to give Guilmon hyper speed…it's like nothing any of us have ever seen before."

"But Growlmon and I made a good team," Veemon chimed in. "They both held off Tuskmon long enough for Davis, Kari, and Takato to send him back into the Digital World."

"So you, Kari, and Takato fought with a Tuskmon downtown?" TK thought. "I can't even begin to think how a Tuskmon could have gotten into our world. Something's definitely wrong."

"Maybe we should talk about this over breakfast," Davis suggested. "I'm pretty hungry."

"Can't do that," TK sighed. "I ran into Tai on my way back from the bathroom. The Den's still closed."

"You mean there's still something running around down there?" Davis asked.

"Knowing Matt and the others, they probably think it's that OU Phantasm," TK scoffed. "But that's just silly."

Ken got to his feet. "But there definitely IS something running around down there. And I think someone should go down there to investigate. That someone…should be me."

TK blinked. "You?"

Ken smirked. "I was almost hoping something like this would happen. This gives me a great chance to do some detective work! I can see it now. We can call it my first case. My first mystery, even. And every great detective starts off with a case like this. Think about it, guys! Detective Ken Ichijouji! I could be like Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot, Nancy Drew, or the Hardy Boys!"

"Hey, I think I heard of them," Davis cut in. "One of them has a really hot girlfriend and the other one uses rainbow-colored hair dye, right?"

Ken sweatdropped. "Not…THOSE Hardy Boyz."

"Ken, do you really think you can find out what's haunting The Den?" TK asked.

Ken reached into his drawer for a magnifying glass. "Of course. It'll just take a little digging, investigating, and ingenuity. But I'll find out what's haunting The Den."

"Ooh, can I come, Ken?" Wormmon piped up.

"Of course! I'll need a partner and who better than you to help?"

Wormmon looked excited. "Oh boy!" He reached into Ken's drawer and pulled out a mini-sized detective's hat to put on his head.

"Very chic," Veemon grinned.

Davis looked over at TK. "Well…looks like Ken's got his plans set. What are you doing today?"

"I've got a date tonight," TK answered coolly. "I'm going out with Catherine."

"Did you ever tell Kari?" Patamon asked.

"Why do I have to tell Kari ANYTHING?" TK demanded. "She and I broke up! We aren't together anymore! I wish everyone would get that through their heads! I can go ahead and do whatever I want and NOT have to answer to her!"

"So you haven't told her," Ken smirked.

"NO!" TK snapped. "And why should I?"

"Because Kari told you about her date with Davis," Patamon pointed out.

"How could she not?" Davis shot back. "He was there when I asked her out."

Patamon shook his head. "I think you're missing my point. The point is, I don't know how Kari would react if she knew you were dating and didn't tell her."

"I don't have to tell her," TK insisted. "There's no reason for me to tell her."

"There's no reason for you NOT to tell her," Patamon shot back. "Unless you're scared of what she'll say."

"Ok, now you're being ridiculous," TK growled. "I am NOT scared of Kari."

"Sure you aren't," Patamon said nonchalantly.

"I'm NOT!" TK scowled. He turned to Davis and Ken. "I'm not!"

"Oh…we believe you, TK," Ken said with Patamon's tone of nonchalance.

When TK looked at Davis, the goggle boy just stayed silent. He knew there was no need for him to say anything, since it was likely that he'd say something wrong anyway.

But Davis could tell that TK didn't want Kari to know about his date tonight.

* * *

After a few hours of driving, Kazu found himself back in West Shinjuku. And he saw the familiar sight of his own house. He knew that Guardromon was in his room, diligently guarding it, as per his instructions. The first thing Kazu noticed was that the driveway was empty, meaning his family wasn't home.

Kazu pulled up to the driveway and stopped the van. "Ok, it looks like we're on our own here. So let's go in and get Guardromon. Uh…"

Kazu searched through his pockets and quickly sweatdropped when he realized there was nothing there. Kenta, who was riding shotgun, shot Kazu a cold stare.

"What's wrong?"

Kazu grinned sheepishly. "I don't have my key."

Henry shook his head. "How could you forget your key?"

"Nice to hear we're all prepared," Terriermon sarcastically quipped.

"Ok, this isn't a problem," Kazu said. "This just means we'll have to go in through the window. Terriermon, there's a tiny little window you can fit through underneath my kitchen. Can you go in through there, run into my room and open up the window?"

"Why can't MarineAngemon go?" Terriermon whined. "He's smaller than I am."

Kenta opened up his coat. "I guess that's not such a bad idea."

MarineAngemon was napping inside the coat. He stuck his head out and just shrugged. He realized that he had just been drafted. He tried hugging Kenta's face, but it was to no avail. Kenta just pulled him off and pointed him outside.

Terriermon waved. "Have a good time."

"You go with him, Terriermon," Henry told the little long-eared Digimon.

"Huh? Why?"

"Just do it. Would it kill you to go along with him?"

Terriermon huffed. "Ok fine! Let's go."

Henry opened the van door, leaving room for Terriermon and MarineAngemon to get out. They headed over to the little window on the ground that led to the basement. Kazu then got out of the car, followed by his friends. They would have to meet the Digimon by his room's window.

Kazu got to his room's window and just stood there waiting. Five minutes passed and nothing happened.

"You think they stopped for a snack?" Kenta pointed out dryly.

"Hope not," Kazu answered. "Everything in my fridge is probably expired."

Finally, there were some sounds coming from inside Kazu's room. Unfortunately, it wasn't what any of them were hoping for.

"INTRUDER! Grenade Destroyer!"

****BOOM****

Before any of them could even react, the wall of Kazu's room was blown out. The dusty debris showered Kazu, Kenta, and Henry all over and the three of them were covered in dust. When the dust cleared, Kazu saw Guardromon chasing Terriermon and MarineAngemon around.

"Guardromon, STOP!!" Kazu shouted.

Guardromon stopped in his tracks and turned his head to face Kazu. Kazu stomped over to the champion android, obviously annoyed that his wall had just been blown to bits.

"WHAT…are you DOING?!"

"You told me to guard your room against intruders, except your parents," Guardromon explained.

That was Guardromon in a nutshell. He would do whatever Kazu asked of him. Unfortunately, more often than not, he would take Kazu's orders far too literally.

Kazu slapped his forehead. "I can't believe we're still having this problem after all these years. When are you going to do what I mean and not what I say?!"

"I am confused," Guardromon said.

"Never mind," Kazu groaned. "Let's just get you in the van. We don't have any luggage, so we can fit you in now. Let's go."

Kazu and Guardromon started walking off, but they stopped when they noticed that Henry and Kenta, both covered in soot, weren't going anywhere.

Henry looked over at Kazu's room. "Terriermon, are you ok?"

Terriermon walked over and climbed up on Henry's shoulder. "That bucket of bolts! He takes his job WAY too seriously!"

"MarineAngemon, are you ok?" Kenta asked.

Having been in the midst of a harrowing experience, MarineAngemon rushed over and clutched himself on Kenta's arm. Kenta turned his head slowly towards Kazu and so did Henry and Terriermon. Neither one of them looked very happy.

Kazu shrugged. "What? You think I'M happy about this? What am I gonna do about my wall?"

Henry looked over at the missing wall and sweatdropped. "Good point. You think we should do something to fix it?"

Kenta shook his head. "No time. We'd probably get caught if Kazu's parents come home. I think we should just leave."

Kazu nodded. "I agree. Maybe my family will just think it was an errant cherry bomb that went horribly, horribly wrong or something. But still, we should go."

With that, Kazu walked Guardromon over to the van. The big android's weight would likely be a factor. The drive back would be a slow one, but Kazu wasn't in any rush. Besides, he needed time to think, because the hardest part wasn't over yet.

There was still the matter of actually moving Guardromon INTO the dorm!

* * *

There was no one guarding the doors to The Den and there was no one inside. Perhaps OU Public Safety was having a lunch break. Perhaps they were somewhere else, thinking of a game plan. Perhaps they were conducting an investigation with whatever facts they collected somewhere else. Or perhaps it was because OU Public Safety feared whatever was lurking inside.

But Detective Ken Ichijouji was not afraid of whatever was lurking inside The Den. He would face whatever it was that awaited him inside, along with his faithful sidekick, Wormmon, on his shoulder.

"It looks empty, Ken," Wormmon said.

"Then that'll just make things easier for us," Ken smirked. "We can go in on our own. And once we're in there, we can go ahead and solve…The Mystery of the OU Phantasm!"

Wormmon pondered that. "All that's missing is the dramatic music for whenever you say…The Mystery of the OU Phantasm!"

Ken thought about that. "Good point. We'll work on that. If we're gonna be famous detectives someday, we'll need some dramatic chords."

"Maybe even our own theme song. We should think about that after we crack this case."

"And to crack this case, we'll have to infiltrate The Den. Wormmon, can you go in through that little hole in the wall?"

Ken pointed down at a small hole in the wall that led into The Den. It wasn't large enough for any human to fit through, but it would be big enough for Wormmon.

"I'd have to watch my hat, but I'm sure I can fit."

"Ok, crawl in through the hole and unlock the side entrance. I'll wait for you there."

Wormmon jumped off Ken's shoulder and headed for the small hole in the wall (while holding his little hat in place, of course). Once Wormmon started to make his way in, Ken made his way to the side entrance.

Ken was all set to get to the bottom of this mystery.

* * *

A few days had passed since they arrived at Odaiba University. Of course, no one knew of their arrival. In fact, Impmon was beginning to think that maybe it was better that way. For one thing, it was nice not to have any humans bothering him. And second, Impmon had never eaten so much in his life. This place called 'The Den' was full of food and Impmon couldn't stop feasting. And he also enjoyed scaring off any of the humans that tried to come in.

"Hey Calumon, pass me another pack of Twinkies," Impmon requested.

Little Calumon stuck his head inside the basket where the Twinkies were kept. He pulled out another pack and passed them to Impmon. It didn't get any better than this. Impmon had it nice and peaceful in The Den's kitchen, just indulging himself.

Suddenly, though, he stopped moving and so did Calumon. They both heard a noise coming the dining area. It sounded like one of the doors was being opened.

"Thanks," a voice said. "Now let's go see what's haunting this place."

"Ok, but if it's that OU Phantasm, I'll just hide under one of the tables," another voice replied.

Impmon got to his feet and ceased his eating. Humans had been coming in and out since yesterday and each time, Impmon tossed out tiny fireballs towards them. They didn't set anything on fire, but they were enough to spook the nosy people. But something caught Impmon's attention. He heard the term 'OU Phantasm'. He wondered what that meant. Did that mean these humans thought he was some kind of ghost? He never DID come out into the open whenever he scared the humans here, so it was a very real possibility. And that left the possibility for some REAL fun wide open.

"What is it, Impmon?" Calumon asked curiously.

"I think we got humans out there."

Calumon took a bite out of a muffin. "What are you gonna do?"

Impmon smirked and lit a fireball on his fingertip. "I'm gonna have a little fun."

Calumon liked the idea of the word 'fun'. "Ooh, can I come?"

"Uh…you can watch."

"Yippee!"

Impmon walked through the kitchen cautiously with Calumon skipping along contentedly behind him. It was time for mischief. There was nothing Impmon enjoyed more than messing around with humans.

* * *

Ken slowly treaded around the abandoned Den, looking for any signs of clues as to what could be haunting it. He wasn't finding much until he reached a straw basket that was tipped over. Inside that basket was an empty wrapper of potato chips.

"Wormmon, hand me my magnifying glass."

Wormmon reached into Ken's pocket and pulled it out. "Here you go, Ken."

Ken inched closer to the wrapper of potato chips with the magnifying glass. That's when he made his first breakthrough.

"Fingerprints," Ken noted. "Do you realize what this means?"

"Those potato chips are really greasy?"

"Not only that, but with this, I have deduced that our culprit is a living thing. For as you probably know, phantasms and ghosts…don't have fingerprints."

"That makes a lot of sense."

Ken suddenly noticed another wrapper on the ground. It was from a discarded box of red vines. He looked over the wrapper and made another discovery.

"These are a different set of prints. And that means we have more than one culprit here."

"But Ken, how could a human haunt this place?" Wormmon asked. "Wouldn't that be difficult? Well…unless they were midgets?"

"Wormmon, they prefer to be called 'little people'. And anyway, it HAS to be humans. If it was some kind of wild animal, then it would have attacked public safety or something. It has to be human."

Just then, a small fireball fell between Ken and Wormmon. Both of them jumped back as the fireball quickly fizzled out. It came from inside the cafeteria's kitchen, which was pitch black. Ken reached into his pocket for his flashlight.

"Who's there?" Ken demanded.

**"OOOOOOOOOOOOOO!! I AM THE OU PHANTASM!! AND YA BETTER GET OUT OF THIS PLACE IF YA KNOW WHAT'S GOOD FOR YA!! OOOOOOOOOOOO!!"**

Ken lit the flashlight and pointed it out towards the kitchen. "What do you want with this place? If you really ARE the OU Phantasm, then why haunt this place? Doesn't fast food sound a lot more appealing?"

**"HEY, WHO'S THE GHOST AROUND HERE?! YOU DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO!! I'M THE ONE MAKING ORDERS HERE AND I WANT YA TO SCRAM!! BADA BOOM!!"**

Ken leaped out of the way of another fireball. Then he pointed at the wrapper on the ground. "I know you're not really a ghost! Your fingerprints give you away! Now come on out before you force me to do this the hard way!"

Another fireball flew out. **"BEAT IT!!"**

Ken dodged the fireball again. "Well, you asked for it. That was your last warning. Now I'll have to play rough!"

**"YEAH, AND WHAT'S ROUGH?!"**

Ken sweatdropped. "Uh…I haven't thought that far ahead yet. Give me about a minute."

That response was met with another fireball. Whoever this person was appeared to be very hostile and didn't want to give up the charade. Ken wondered how that guy could make fireballs like that. But he also wondered how he would go about flushing the fake phantasm out.

* * *

Wormmon watched the whole exchange from behind one of the counters, the one closest to the frozen yogurt machine. Ken looked to be in over his head, but Wormmon didn't want to come out and expose himself unless it was absolutely necessary. Besides that, he had faith in Ken. He knew he would flush out this would-be ghost.

"What's going on?" someone asked.

Wormmon turned around to see a small little white Digimon with a big round head and big ears, who was casually eating a banana.

"Oh that's just Detective Ken Ichijouji trying to solve the Mystery of the OU Phantasm," Wormmon answered calmly. "He may be having a little trouble right now, but you just wait and see him flush out whoever's back there. Watch and be amazed!" Then something hit Wormmon like a ton of bricks. "Hey, wait a minute! Who are you?!"

The little Digimon's ears shrunk. "Uh…me?"

"Are you supposed to be here?"

"Um…uh…IMPMON!!"

The Digimon started running. Wormmon knew he wouldn't be able to keep pace with this speedy little one. So he did things the easy way.

"Silk Thread!"

Wormmon shot out his Silk Thread like a lasso and rustled up the little Digimon with pinpoint accuracy. Seeing he was stuck, the little one cried out for help.

"Impmon! Help me!"

The so-called 'OU Phantasm' boomed. **"I THOUGHT I TOLD YA TO JUST STAY OUT OF THE WAY AND WATCH!! BADA BOOM!!"**

A fireball came flying out of the kitchen and headed straight for Wormmon. It landed on the Silk Thread, however, burning it off and setting the little Digimon free. The little one started running again.

"Don't let him get away, Ken!" Wormmon cried.

"I got him, Wormmon!"

Ken was quick to give chase. The little Digimon ran towards the dark kitchen and Ken followed with Wormmon lagging behind. Unfortunately, they all ran straight into the darkness. And that proved to be a recipe for disaster.

"HEY!! WATCH OUT!!"

****CRASH****

****CLANG****

****CRASH****

Wormmon didn't even know what hit him. All he knew was that there was a kettle on his head. Finally, someone managed to reach for a nearby light switch. It was Ken. And once the lights were on, Wormmon took the kettle off his head to see the little white Digimon and the alleged 'OU Phantasm'. It was another Digimon. A purple little devil that wasn't much bigger than Wormmon.

"I told you to watch," the little purple one said groggily.

The white Digimon cleared a banana peel from atop his forehead. "Sorry, Impmon."

Wormmon looked up at Ken. "I think we have our 'OU Phantasm', Ken. Two Digimon. Can we call this case closed?"

"Not just yet," Ken replied. He picked up the purple Impmon by his collar. "Alright, you're caught. How did you get in here?"

Wormmon was distracted with watching Ken try to pump this Impmon for a motive. So he obviously wasn't paying attention when the little white Digimon came up behind Ken with a pitchfork and…

"YEOW!!"

…poked Ken in the backside with it. Ken dropped the Impmon and they both started running off. But the Impmon quickly stopped and looked back one more time.

"Here's a little going-away present. Bada Boom!"

The Impmon tossed another fireball at Ken, giving him a hotfoot. Then he and the other Digimon dashed off and out of The Den.

"Are you ok, Ken?" Wormmon asked.

"Just a little sore," Ken responded coolly. Then he looked out towards the back exit. "They're gone. You know what this means?"

"Um…they've escaped?"

"Besides that," Ken groaned. "Those two might run with the same crowd as that Tuskmon that Davis saw last night. We've got to find them. They might cause more trouble. Let's go!"

Wormmon climbed up on Ken's shoulder. "Our first dramatic chase. I always imagined it would be this exciting."

"Just stay still, because we're about to head out into the open. Now let's get 'em!"

Ken was off and running again, heading for the back exit. That Impmon and his accomplice couldn't have gone far.

* * *

As soon as Impmon ran out the back door, he made a beeline for the nearby shrubbery. Calumon was following along, but he didn't see Impmon jump in the shrubs. When little Calumon stopped and looked around, Impmon reached out and yanked him in the shrubs.

"We'll hide in here," Impmon whispered.

Impmon and Calumon peeked through the shrubs and saw that human running around with a Digimon on his shoulder. He looked around before he continued running.

Impmon scowled. "Stupid human. I was actually having some fun, too. Come on, Calumon, let's see what else we can find around here."

Making sure to keep himself and Calumon hidden, Impmon led the way out of the cafeteria and towards another part of this enormous campus. There were young humans walking around everywhere. Impmon could only imagine the fun he could have messing with these humans. And if he kept himself hidden, they wouldn't know what hit them.

Impmon lit a fireball on his fingertip. "This should be fun. You think I can nail one of them?"

Calumon looked the other way and gasped. "Jeri!"

Impmon's attention was now diverted. "Jeri?"

Impmon looked the same direction as Calumon and, indeed, notice that amongst the crowd that was walking…was Jeri, who was heading for one of the campus's buildings.

"Come on," Impmon muttered. "Let's see if we can follow her."

Impmon dragged Calumon by the hand towards the building. From the looks of it, it looked like one of the apartment complexes from back in West Shinjuku. All he had to do now was infiltrate the place. But if he went in through the door, he would be spotted.

Then he found an open window in the distance. That would be his big chance to sneak inside. So he grabbed Calumon by the hand again and led him to the open window.

* * *

Kari couldn't help but notice the tension inside her room. And it had been that way ever since the Digimon had been discovered. Of course, the animosity wasn't between the roommates. It was between the two Digimon. Gatomon was on Kari's bed and Renamon was on Rika's bed. Both were staring holes into each other and it had been that way the whole day.

Yolei, who came to visit Kari, couldn't help but notice. "Uh…is there something between those two that I don't know about?"

"They met a long time ago and they have some issues," Kari answered calmly. "But from what I can tell, the main issue is that they just hate each other."

Gatomon heard that. "I wouldn't say I hate. I'd just like her a lot more if she was gone."

"Well, that's too bad," Renamon replied sourly. "Because I'm not going anywhere."

"Neither am I!" Gatomon huffed.

Once again, both Digimon crossed their arms and turned their backs on each other. Kari didn't know whether or not she could interpret this as progress, because this is the first time they had taken their eyes off each other.

"So…got plans tonight?" Kari asked casually, diverting from the tense scene.

"I think we're getting together to watch a movie in my room," Yolei answered. "There's no better time since my room will be empty."

"Catherine won't be there? Where's she going?"

Silence.

Yolei sweatdropped. "Uh…out!"

"You sound awfully nervous when you say that," Kari noted. "Is there something wrong?"

Yolei giggled nervously. "Wrong? What could be wrong? It's just…well…I shouldn't say anything! Forget I said anything!"

"Ok, this is making me curious," Kari replied. "What is it, Yolei?"

There was another moment of silence. Even Rika, who was sitting calmly at her desk with her head buried in her work, was now looking up with a hint of curiosity. Yolei was looking completely flustered.

"Kari…I really shouldn't say anything. You promise not to overreact?"

"Overreact? What do you mean?"

"It's because……Catherine's going out on a date……with TK."

Silence.

"WHAT?!?!"

Yolei flinched. It wasn't often that Kari yelled like that and whenever it DID happen, it meant that she must have been REALLY angry. Rika maintained her position, watching the whole thing unfold.

"Kari, you promised not to overreact!" Yolei exclaimed.

"No, I didn't!" Kari pointed out. "I never said I wouldn't overreact! And why wouldn't I overreact?! I can't believe TK's going out with that French floozy!"

Gatomon knew what this was all leading. She immediately put her own personal issues aside and rushed to her partner.

"Kari, calm down," Gatomon tried saying. "You have no reason to be angry. You and TK broke up!"

"He…CAN'T go out with her!" Kari cried, not having heard Gatomon. "And he didn't even tell me, either! Well, I'm gonna go set him straight RIGHT NOW!"

Kari got up and stormed towards the door. But as she approached it, she was met up by Rika, who was calmly standing in her way.

"Excuse me, please," Kari muttered through gritted teeth. She was trying to keep her polite demeanor, but couldn't deny the anger she was feeling inside of her.

"And just what are you planning to do?" Rika asked, obviously not shaken by Kari's mood.

"I need to talk to TK!" Kari growled.

"And tell him what?" Rika pointed out. "That he can't go out with whomever he wants? I thought you said you two broke up!"

"We…did. But…you just don't understand! Now please get out of my way!"

Kari nudged Rika aside and stormed out the door. There was only path for her now and it led straight to TK's room downstairs.

"Hi Kari."

Kari didn't even noticed Jeri passing by her in the hall. In fact, she nearly bumped her. Kari was blinded now. And she wouldn't be able to see again until she cleared this whole thing up with TK.

* * *

Rika just shook her head and closed the door, but before she could close it, Jeri walked in.

"Is it me, or is Kari in a really bad mood?" Jeri asked.

Rika looked over at Yolei. "I thought she broke up with him!"

"She did," Yolei replied.

"I thought she didn't like him anymore!"

"She doesn't."

"Then what is her problem?" Rika demanded.

"It's just that…well…I don't think you two would understand."

"Try us," Jeri chimed in. "If we're going to be Kari's roommates and her friends, then she has to be able to confide in us. Maybe we can help."

"It's one of those things she'll have to tell you herself when she's ready," Yolei said. "But in the meantime…maybe we should let her deal with this herself."

Rika looked over at the solid door and scowled. She couldn't believe anyone could be so ridiculous. Kari was angry over nothing. Apparently, she didn't understand the whole concept of a 'breakup'.

And if it was that same TK she met the other day…then she felt rather sorry for him. He seemed like a nice enough guy. He didn't deserve the ordeal he was about to face.

* * *

TK was casually bouncing a foam ball off the wall while lying back on his bed. Davis was finishing up a paper with Veemon looking over his shoulder while Patamon was taking a nap. Ken and Wormmon were still out being detectives and trying to solve this case of the OU Phantasm.

The calmness of the room was broken when someone knocked. Davis put his paper aside and went to answer the door.

Davis smiled. "Hi Kari!"

Kari didn't return the smile. She didn't look happy. "Davis…can I speak to TK alone for a second. I'm sorry if you're busy, but I'll make it up to you…later."

Davis looked over at his desk. "Well…I was working on a paper…but for you, anything. I'll be right in the hall."

Davis stepped out into the hall and shut the door. Kari then shot a glance at Veemon. Veemon took the hint and walked into Davis's closet and shut the door. She then looked over at Patamon and concluded that the sleeping little Digimon wouldn't be nosing in this conversation.

Then she focused on TK…and she gave him an angry stare.

"Something wrong?" TK asked, having no idea what to expect.

"So when were planning to tell me?!" Kari demanded.

"Tell you what?" TK asked unknowingly.

"That you were going out on a date with Catherine?! How could you?! You're dating again so soon?!"

"Hey, wait a minute!" TK protested. "What do you mean 'Am *I* dating again so soon?'?! You just went out on a date last night, or did you forget that?!"

"T-T-That's different!" Kari stammered. "Davis is my friend! We're just friends!"

"Yeah, and Catherine's MY friend!" TK shot back. "WE'RE friends, too! Why are you so angry about this?!"

Patamon sleepily lifted his head. "What's going on?"

"NOW look what you did!" TK growled. "You woke him up! I hope you're happy!"

"I'm NOT happy!" Kari cried. "I can't believe you're already going out with some girl you hardly know! We've gone out for so many years, been everything to each other for so long! It's like I meant nothing to you! You didn't even bother to tell me you were going out! It didn't take you long to forget about me, did it, Takeru?!"

This was serious. Kari never called him by his full first name unless it was something totally serious. She was really upset about this.

But TK was also looking at this from another perspective. Kari was out of control. She had no reason to be this upset at all. Kari had already begun the process of moving on and she wanted to deny TK that same opportunity. It wasn't fair.

"WE…BROKE…UP!" TK shouted, emphasizing each word. "And that means it's time for me to move on! I don't have to answer to you anymore! And if I want to go out with a beautiful girl like Catherine, then I WILL!" That's when he grinned smugly. "Don't tell me you're JEALOUS!"

Kari gasped. She gave him the meanest look she could possibly give him…

****SMACK****

…before slapping the grin off his face and the taste out of his mouth.

"FINE! Go out with her!" Kari shouted. "See if I care!"

Kari turned around to stomp away. When she opened the door, there was Davis, who had a look of concern on his face.

"Is everything ok?" he asked.

Kari hesitated for a moment. She had a look of uncertainty on her face. But that's when she made a bold move, one she didn't even appear to be sure of. She grabbed Davis's head and planted a deep kiss on his lips before walking out. TK was stunned. Davis was also stunned, but in a different way. It looked like a big dream had come true for him. Patamon waved a hand in front of Davis's face and got no reaction. The goggle boy was in a zombie-like state.

"Whoa…I think he's out of it," Patamon thought.

TK couldn't believe it. She boldly kissed Davis RIGHT IN FRONT OF HIM. It was the lowest thing a person could have done, which bothered him since it came from Kari. Never did he think she was capable of doing something like that. It was so unlike her. And from the look on her face after she had done it, it looked like she realized that as well. Did his upcoming date bother her that much?

Then he shrugged all that off. If it bothered her, he didn't care. It was HIS date and HIS life and he refused to let Kari Kamiya control him.

* * *

Impmon crept over to the open window. It was a simple matter of peering over the windowsill to see if anyone was in there. There were two guys in there, but they looked far too distracted to notice Impmon come in.

"Keep quiet so they don't see you," Impmon whispered.

With that in mind, he gave Calumon a boost inside. Then he climbed in himself. They crawled by the wall while the two humans started arguing.

"Did you enjoy that, Davis?!"

"Uhhhhhhhhhhhh………huh? Wha?"

"I hope you know she did that just to spite me!"

"Uhhhhhhhhhhhh………huh? Wha?"

They would never notice them. In fact, Impmon felt like taking advantage of the guy with the goggles by giving him a hotfoot. But he knew he had to get out of there and find Jeri. But that's when something unexpected happened.

"HEY! TK!"

Something else cried out. Impmon didn't even get to see what it was before he was spotted by the humans.

The goggled one shook off his trance and saw Impmon and Calumon. "Huh?! MORE Digimon?!"

Impmon went with his best line of defense. "Bada Boom!"

Impmon tossed a fireball on the ground, sending the goggle boy jumping out of the way. Before anyone else could get in his way, Impmon dragged Calumon out the open door and ran down the hall.

Unfortunately, he didn't watch where he was going, because he went on…

"HEY!"

…to bump into someone. It just happened to be a familiar face.

Calumon recognized him. "Takato!"

Impmon couldn't believe it, but it really was Takato Matsuki. Of all the people to bump into…

Takato gasped. "Calumon?! Impmon?!"

Suddenly, one of the other guys staying in the hall came out. Takato quickly ran in front of the two Digimon.

"What's going on?" the guy asked.

"Oh…I just had some more stuffed animals lying around," Takato said nervously.

Taking the hint, Impmon and Calumon froze and went into a stuffed animal act.

The guy went back into his room. "Ok, but you have a lot of stuffed animals."

Once the guy was in, Takato turned back around. "How did you guys…?!"

Before Takato could even finish asking his question, the other two guys caught up to them.

The guy with the blond hair panted. "Takato! Digimon!"

"Relax," Takato said calmly. "I know these two. Let's go to my room and I'll introduce you."

Impmon sweatdropped. It looked like he'd be getting better acquainted with more humans. This wasn't what he had in mind at all when he got here.

  


Next Week: Davis, TK, and Takato all gather around in Takato's room with Impmon and Calumon where the two Digimon tell their reasons for coming to Odaiba University. But soon, nighttime approaches and TK and Catherine go out on their date. Too bad that there's also a Digimon on the way. But there's also the little matter of Kazu, Kenta, and Henry who are all on their way back to Odaiba. Meanwhile, Kari's trying to cope with TK dating again. So who will try and help? Gatomon? Jeri? RIKA?! Come back for the next Digimon: The College Years!

  


Any comments? Then mail me at AmericanCaptor@hotmail.com and don't forget to review below!


	11. Just Another Saturday

Last Week: Kazu took Kenta, Henry, Terriermon, and MarineAngemon with him back to West Shinjuku to get Guardromon. Unfortunately, Guardromon took his instructions too seriously and ended up blowing away one of Kazu's walls. With Guardromon in the back of the van, they're all on their way back to Odaiba. Meanwhile, Kari found out that TK's going out with Catherine and she didn't take the news very well. The former couple had a huge fight and it ended with Kari slapping TK…and kissing Davis! Ken and Wormmon decided to take the incident at The Den into their own hands. They discovered the alleged 'OU Phantasm', but it turned out to be Impmon, along with Calumon. Impmon and Calumon were chased out of The Den and fled to the dorms where they were then spotted by Patamon, TK, and Davis. Once they ran out into the hall, they ran into Takato! Now we have some more introductions in store.

  


**Digimon: The College Years**

Episode 11- Just Another Saturday

  


Takato looked out into the hallway. "Nobody here." Then he closed the door. "So I guess it's just us."

Takato looked around to examine the scene. TK and Davis were sitting on the floor right in front of Impmon. Hyperactive Calumon was running around the room, trying to burn off some of that sugar rush. Takato was wishing he had Henry around, because he knew he would have trouble explaining this by himself.

"Um…TK, Davis…this is Impmon and that's Calumon."

"How many more Digimon do you Tamers have?" Davis asked.

"What do you mean by that?" Impmon demanded. "You think I BELONG to one of them? You don't even know, do you? Stupid human."

"Impmon isn't one of our Digimon," Takato clarified. "We met him five years ago when he ran away from his Tamers. He was……a friend. But what are you doing here, Impmon? I thought you were back in West Shinjuku."

"I don't appreciate being left behind," Impmon growled. "Why didn't anyone tell me you were all leaving until the last minute? I guess you guys were gonna send me a postcard."

"I thought Rika and Renamon would tell you earlier," Takato answered. "I guess they never got around to it. You…look pretty mad about it."

"You think I'm NOT mad about it?!" Impmon demanded.

"I think I see what he means, Takato," TK cut in. "You guys never told him you were leaving? If my friends didn't tell me they were moving away, I'd be pretty upset too."

"HEY!" Impmon snapped. "Those humans ain't friends! I ain't friends with humans!"

Takato shook his head. "Don't listen to him. Deep down, he really likes us."

Impmon lit a fireball on his fingertip. "Take that back!"

Calumon, still running around, paused to blow out the fireball like a candle. Then he resumed running around the room. He kept running while Guilmon tried to chase after him.

"What's with him?" Davis asked. "He's pretty hyper."

Calumon stopped in front of Takato and looked at his new friends. "My name's Calumon!"

Takato picked Calumon up. "He's another friend we met five years ago. He didn't belong to anybody and actually…he doesn't have a Tamer. When I first met Calumon, he was just looking for someone to play with. It turns out that there was a lot more to him than we first thought."

"And what's that?" TK asked.

Takato was about to tell them about Calumon holding the secret of the Shining Digivolution. But before he could say anything, someone knocked on his door. He started to think it was Henry, but they all couldn't have come back from West Shinjuku already. Curiously, Takato walked over to answer the door, but he found…Ken and Wormmon, who were both wearing a brown detective's hat and cloak.

"Takato, have you seen TK and Davis…?"

Ken paused when he saw Impmon. Calumon leaped out of Takato's arms and rushed to hide under his bed. Impmon lit a fireball on his fingertip.

"Ya don't know when to give up, do ya?" Impmon sneered.

Takato calmly stepped between Ken and Impmon. "Is there something I should know?"

"THAT'S your OU Phantasm!" Ken shouted. "He's been the one haunting The Den!"

"Hey, you mean you really solved the case, Ken?" Davis asked curiously.

Ken smirked. "Did you doubt me for a second?"

Wormmon jumped off Ken's shoulder and crawled under Takato's legs towards Impmon. "All we want are some answers. Why did you haunt The Den? Why did you scare everybody who went in there?"

"I was trying to have some fun," Impmon answered. "At least until I found one of these guys."

Ken shot Takato a glance. "You know him?"

"Impmon's a friend," Takato answered. "I guess he just wanted to come look for us and so did Calumon over there. It's too bad I can't keep them in here. Maybe Rika and Jeri can keep them around."

"They might even be able to play peacekeeper between Gatomon and Renamon," TK suggested.

Takato sweatdropped. "Impmon? Peacekeeper? You don't know him very well, do you?"

"Yeah, I take that as an insult," Impmon growled.

Calumon came out from under the bed. "Can I play peacekeeper?"

Takato smiled. "Calumon, on the other hand, might be able to help us." He bent down to look the little Digimon in the eye. "Can you make sure that Renamon and Gatomon don't fight?"

"Sure! Uh…who's Gatomon?"

"You'll meet her in a little bit," Takato replied. "I'll take you up to Rika and Jeri a little later."

Wormmon walked over to Calumon. "I guess we got off on the wrong foot. I'm Wormmon."

Calumon eagerly shook Wormmon's hand. "I'm Calumon! Nice to meet you! You look like a nice Digimon! Can we be friends?"

"Um…sure. You seem pretty hyper. Just how much of that Den food did you have?"

"Lots and LOTS of sugar!"

With that question answered, Wormmon moved towards Impmon. "And you must be Impmon. It's nice to meet you."

Wormmon extended the hand of friendship, which Impmon looked a little more than hesitant to take. He just turned his head away and reluctantly accepted.

"I'm Impmon and it's your pleasure to meet me."

"So where are you staying?" Wormmon asked.

"Like he said, I might as well go visit Rika, Jeri, and Renamon. But we'll see what happens from there. Is that human over there your Tamer?"

"Tamer? He's not my Tamer. Ken's my partner and a DigiDestined."

Impmon looked intrigued. "Is that right? You mean one of THE DigiDestined?"

"You know about them, Impmon?" Takato asked curiously.

Impmon nodded. "The stories of the DigiDestined are all over the Digital World. I just didn't think I'd ever get to see these humans myself. Not much to see."

Ken scoffed. "You'd be surprised."

TK got to his feet and started heading out. "Well, as much as I'd love to see this…argument, I have to get ready for my date tonight."

"You have a date tonight?" Takato asked curiously.

"Yeah, so I'd better be going. I'll see you later. And it was nice meeting you two."

Calumon waved cheerfully while Impmon just nonchalantly shrugged. Davis, Ken, and Wormmon were still there. So Takato decided to tell them a little more about these two friends of his.

"So…where was I?"

* * *

Night was starting to fall in the Digital World. Puppetmon tapped his fingers impatiently as he sat by Datamon's supercomputer. The Digimon Empress and Datamon were both busy looking through the line of Digimon. It was a slow process which Puppetmon found dull and boring.

"Can we hurry this up?" Puppetmon groaned.

"This is a delicate process," Datamon responded. "It's imperative that we choose the right mon for the job."

"But he does make a good point," The Digimon Empress pointed out. "We SHOULD hurry. I'd like to get this one out there as soon as possible."

"Can't we send that Tortomon we just got?" Puppetmon whined.

"Hmm…that DOES sound appealing," Datamon admitted. "What do you say, my pretty?"

"A Tortomon CAN be pretty destructive," The Digimon Empress mused. "Very well. We'll send the Tortomon."

Puppetmon got to his feet. He rushed past the other Digimon and up to the Tortomon, which still had a Black Gear on his back.

"Looks like you're up! Give me a good show and go ahead and STOMP EVERYONE! Except for TK, he's mine!"

"Ahem…I believe The Dark One asked for the holder of the Crest of Light to be kept alive as well?" Datamon pointed out.

"Whatever," Puppetmon nonchalantly muttered. "I just want the chance to have some fun and nothing's more fun than playing around with humans."

"You two prepare the Tortomon," The Digimon Empress instructed. "I must go, since I have a prior engagement. But I'll be in touch tonight and we'll bring the Tortomon in."

Without even waiting for anyone else to say anything, The Digimon Empress walked out. Puppetmon couldn't help but scowl. As soon as she was out, he turned to Datamon.

"Are you SURE she's fully under our control?" Puppetmon asked skeptically.

"She's our puppet," Datamon said sinisterly, fully intending the pun. "It doesn't sound like it," Puppetmon shot back. "With every day that passes, it feels like she's getting out of control. Are you sure you know EVERYTHING about that thing stuck inside her?"

"I'm fully knowledgeable," Datamon answered. "She's under our control. Trust me."

Puppetmon wasn't so sure. The hierarchy was getting more and more confusing as it related to Puppetmon, Datamon, and The Digimon Empress. The only thing they all knew for sure was that The Dark One was the real brains behind the operation.

Puppetmon looked at the Tortomon, who roared loudly again. He couldn't help but cackle. This would make for an entertaining Saturday night.

* * *

Kari sighed despondently. While she was thrilled with the thought of spending her Saturday night with her friends, she knew there was one friend missing. That friend was TK and he was going out on a date with that Catherine girl.

She was deeply regretting what she did earlier. She didn't regret kissing Davis. It was something she wanted to do someday. But she regretted the REASON she did it. She didn't do it out of love or passion. Kari kissed Davis out of pure spite. It was wrong and she realized it.

It was time to go over to Yolei's apartment, but Kari honestly didn't feel like she wanted to go. She felt terrible. There was someone else there who was in touch with her feelings. That someone was Jeri.

"Kari, what's the matter?" Jeri asked.

Kari just sighed deeply.

"I think I know what's wrong," Gatomon said sadly. "Kari, is it because TK's going out on his date tonight?"

Kari nodded.

"But Kari, I thought you didn't have feelings for TK anymore," Jeri pointed out. "Do you?"

Kari shook her head furiously. She may have been upset with TK going out, but she certainly didn't have any more feelings for him.

"Then what's wrong? Why are you sad?"

"He never told me, Jeri. I told him when I was going out with Davis. He knew for weeks. I told him in advance. But he never told me he was going out with Catherine. And I didn't think he would. I thought I meant more to him than that."

Just then, Kari heard an annoyed grunt. She raised her head to see Rika walking over to her. Jeri, seemingly out of instinct, moved out of her way. Rika sat next to Kari.

"Maybe I should explain the concept of a 'breakup' to you," Rika began. "You…and TK…BROKE UP! That means you two have nothing! He does not have to tell you ANYTHING anymore! If you want to tell him about your dates in advance, good for you. Whatever makes you happy. But you need to get it through your head that he doesn't need your approval for anything. He can do whatever he wants! He can see whomever he wants! He's his own person and he does not have to answer to you! You two are NOT together! It's OVER between you two! Don't you get it?!"

Kari sighed deeply and hung her head down. "Rika, you just don't understand…"

"I think the one who doesn't understand is YOU!"

Silence.

Kari and Rika just remained frozen, only moving their eyes, which they both used to stare a hole into each other. Seeing what this whole conflict was doing, Jeri stepped in between both of them.

"You know, I think Yolei's expecting the three of us to show up…"

"Yeah…we'd better go," Kari concurred.

This was the first time since the year started that Kari was starting to have some ill feelings towards Rika. She couldn't believe this girl had the gall to try and make it look like KARI was the one who was wrong.

Jeri nervously held the door open for the two girls. Kari picked Gatomon up while Renamon chose to stay behind. Kari and Rika headed towards the door…and bumped each other roughly on the way out. It was obvious that tension was running high. And things didn't get any better when a pager went off.

"Oh no," Jeri moaned. "I have to go! Will you two be ok?"

Rika just shot Jeri a glance while Kari nodded calmly. Seeing everything would be ok between them, Jeri ran off.

Kari couldn't help but notice how sudden that was.

* * *

TK didn't picture himself being in a soup restaurant that day, but there he was. And he didn't picture himself sitting in front of a pretty young lady like Catherine.

Catherine took another sip of her noodle soup. "I'm very amazed, TK. You've managed to have such an exciting life, even AFTER what happened when we first met."

"I just wish you and I could have met under better circumstances," TK smiled. "Not that I'm complaining. At least you and I met. And…I can't complain…now that you've come back into my life. Why come here, Catherine? I thought you'd love France."

Catherine shook her head. "It's not that I don't like living in France. But part of taking full advantage of the college experience includes studying abroad. So I decided to study in Japan for my sophomore year. Sure it would be a very educational experience, but I also see it as a chance to see a whole new land."

"You'll just love it here," TK nodded. "Trust me. I'm really glad you're here."

"Why's that, TK?" Catherine asked curiously.

"Because I never thought I'd have this opportunity again," TK answered. "I always wondered 'what if' and what would have been if…I had stuck around in France a little longer. Maybe there could have been something between us?"

"I always wondered that myself," Catherine admitted. "Maybe there can STILL be something between us, TK."

TK blushed. "I hope so."

"But you're a very handsome young man," Catherine continued. "I'm sure there's already a special girl in your life."

TK immediately cut her off. "There WAS a special girl in my life. But she's…in the past. I'm looking at my future."

"You think we CAN have a future together?"

"I hope so. And hope is my middle name."

Before this could lead to anything, a pager started going off. It belonged to Catherine. Catherine looked at her pager and sighed deeply, cursing in French under her breath.

"I cannot believe my luck! TK, I have to cut our date short. But…I really enjoyed myself."

Before TK could even say anything, Catherine leaned over and gave TK a kiss on the lips…attracting attention from the soup-eating customers. Then Catherine ran out quickly. TK was hoping this night would be a lot better, but he was satisfied with what he had. He smugly leaned back in his chair and raised his hand.

"Check, please!"

* * *

Just like the night before, The Digimon Empress found herself in another lone alley. She grabbed her communicator and sighed deeply. Then she made contact.

"Is he ready?"

_"The Tortomon is ready for action,"_ Datamon answered on the other end. _"Prepare to receive him on the other end."_

Seconds later, a Digital Field was being opened before her very eyes. And out of the Digital Field came the big Tortomon. The Digimon Empress simply pointed out towards the streets and the Tortomon ran down the alley into the open.

The night was going awfully slow. She craved some excitement and she knew a battle with the DigiDestined would bring The Digimon Empress all the excitement she wanted.

* * *

"And…we finally made it," Kazu said proudly. "Told you it was easy!"

Henry just shot Kazu another cold stare as they approached the streets of Odaiba. This wasn't how Henry pictured spending his Saturday. He thought he would be able to go out on this day, but instead he accompanied Kazu and Kenta to retrieve Guardromon. Now he was covered in soot and dust from the earlier explosion. This wasn't Henry's ideal Saturday.

"Yeah, easy," Kenta groaned. "The problem is…it's not OVER yet! We still have to get Guardromon INSIDE the dorm!"

"Look at it this way," Kazu grinned. "At least that's ALL we have to worry about. It can't get any worse."

Unfortunately, as soon as he said that, Kazu turned his eyes back to the road and quickly stepped on the brakes. The van came to a screeching halt.

"What's THAT about?" Terriermon asked indignantly.

Henry looked at what was in front of the van. "Uh…we've…got a BIG problem!"

In front of the van…was a huge Digimon.

* * *

After paying for his meal and Catherine's meal, TK walked out of the restaurant and into the streets, which were less busy than usual.

"TK and Catherine sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G."

TK turned around and looked in the nearby bush. He walked over and parted the bushes to find Patamon.

"And what are YOU doing here?" TK asked.

"I followed you," Patamon said cheerfully. "I didn't want to stay behind. I wanted to see how you were doing. Besides…Davis brought Veemon on HIS date."

"Veemon FOLLOWED Davis," TK corrected.

"And I followed YOU," Patamon grinned. "So what's the problem?"

TK chuckled. "Never mind. My date ended a little early. So I guess…"

TK stopped in his tracks when he saw a crowd of people running down the streets in a panic. He didn't know what to make of that. But he had a bad feeling about it. TK rushed over towards the source of the panic. He turned the corner to see that his fears were realized. It was a large Digimon. And it was a familiar one, at that.

"Is that Tortomon?" TK asked.

Patamon nodded. "At least WE ran into it and not Davis and Veemon. I'll bet they're still having nightmares about the one they saw. But how did this one get here?"

"I don't know, but we'd better do something! You ready?"

Patamon nodded. "Yeah!" He flew off TK's shoulder and headed over to the Tortomon. "Boom Bubble!"

That didn't work like TK hoped. The Boom Bubble attack just bounced off harmlessly. Patamon flew back over towards TK.

"I think I'd better Digivolve," Patamon suggested.

"TK!"

TK turned around and was surprised to see a friend. "Henry?"

It was Henry along with Terriermon, Kazu, and Kenta. They were all standing by a van and they were observing the carnage. TK walked over to them.

Kazu pointed his Digivice at the large Digimon. "Tortomon, champion level. He takes full advantage of his large size with his Strong Carapace attack and Spinning Attack. How did he get here?"

"I don't know, but we have to stop him," TK replied.

Terriermon stepped forward. "I'm ready, Coach! Send me in!"

Henry reached into his pocket…and sweatdropped. "Um…you might have to stay on the bench."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"I gave my Digivice to Izzy!"

"WHAT?! So what are we supposed to do now?!"

Kazu's face brightened up. "Send in some reinforcements!"

Kazu rushed over to the back of the van and opened it to reveal a Guardromon. TK had seen these before, but they had always been as adversaries. But it looked like this Guardromon was on his side.

"That's your Guardromon?" TK asked.

Kazu nodded. "That's my Guardromon! No other Digimon packs the kind of punch he does!" He leaned over towards Guardromon's ear. "You know what to do! Go get that Tortomon!"

Guardromon headed over towards Tortomon and aimed. "Grenade Destroyer!"

The Grenade Destroyer attack got Tortomon's attention. Tortomon rushed Guardromon and tried to tackle him, but Guardromon managed to catch him and toss him in the air. Tortomon shook it off and tried again.

"Spinning Attack!"

Tortomon took to the air and spun around before crashing into Guardromon. The big champion robot went crashing to the ground. That was enough for TK.

"Patamon, I think we'd better give him a hand."

"You got it, TK!"

****Patamon…Digivolve to…Angemon!****

Before Tortomon could move in on Guardromon, he was cut off by Angemon. Tortomon and Angemon stood face to face while Kazu pointed his Digivice again.

"I can't believe it! Angemon, champion level! He demolishes evil with his Hand of Fate attack!"

"It's THE Angemon!" Kenta shouted excitedly.

"I never thought I'd ever see Angemon in person!" Henry added in amazement.

TK blinked. "I take it you guys have heard of Angemon?"

"HAVE WE HEARD OF ANGEMON?!" Henry, Kenta, and Kazu all shouted in unison.

TK flinched. It was obvious that they really HAVE heard of Angemon. And they must have recognized how strong he was.

Tortomon turned around to face Angemon. He did not appear to be impressed with the sight of the champion angel. He snorted like a bull before charging once again. But Tortomon didn't get to go at full speed, because Guardromon recovered long enough to grab him by the tail. That gave Angemon the opportunity he was looking for.

Angemon took to the sky and looked ready to deliver his mighty Hand of Fate attack. But he looked down at Tortomon and stopped in his tracks.

"TK! It's a Black Gear!"

At first, TK didn't think he heard what he did. "What?!"

"It's on the back of his neck!" Angemon continued. "If he'll stay still, I can get it off!"

Tortomon wouldn't cooperate, however. He shrugged Guardromon off by swinging his tail around and then he aimed for Angemon.

"Strong Carapace!"

Tortomon's Strong Carapace attack went into the air and knocked Angemon down. He was clearly caught off-guard and now Tortomon was ready to strike again. That's when Kazu reached in for one of his Digimon cards.

Kazu looked at the card. "Let's hope this works." He swiped the card through his Digivice. "DigiModify! Hyper Wing activate!"

To TK's amazement, Guardromon grew a set of wings and took to the air. Tortomon didn't even see him coming. Guardromon looked down and took aim.

"Grenade Destroyer!"

Before Tortomon could turn around, the Grenade Destroyer attack landed on the Black Gear and disintegrated it. Tortomon was no longer moving towards Angemon. Instead, he just shrugged and looked around as if he had just woken up.

"What happened?" Henry asked.

"The Black Gear's been destroyed," TK answered. "He won't be bothering us anymore."

"What's a Black Gear?" Kenta asked.

"It's a dark contraption that makes Digimon evil," TK replied. "I haven't seen Black Gears in over ten years. I never thought I'd see them again."

Angemon examined the exhausted Tortomon before turning to TK. "There's something evil behind all this. I sensed that while they WERE Black Gears, there was something…different about them. I sense they're different from the ones Devimon once used. There's something…artificial about them."

"Artificial?" Henry repeated. "Like replicas?"

"Very REAL replicas," Angemon agreed. "Yet their effect is quite the same. It obviously managed to turn this Tortomon against us."

Guardromon landed on the ground. Kazu brought him over to the Tortomon, who was fully cooperating now, if for no other reason than because he was unfamiliar with his surroundings.

"What do we do with him?" Kazu asked.

Before anyone said anything, MarineAngemon came out of Kenta's coat pocket and flew over towards the Tortomon. He tapped his nose and the Tortomon snapped like a tortoise, sending the little one flying back to Kenta, clinging to his arm.

"You'll have to excuse him," Kenta sighed. "As you can tell, MarineAngemon can be a little affectionate sometimes."

Angemon petted the Tortomon. "This one won't harm anyone anymore. Now it's just a simple matter of sending him back through a Digiport."

TK sighed. "I guess we'd better find a computer. Let's go, guys."

Henry and Terriermon both followed along. "So you guys can just open ports to the Digital World at will? I've got to see this."

TK nodded. He would explain the whole thing to all of them as he walked towards an Internet café.

* * *

Another Digimon had struck and another Digimon had failed. Standing atop the roof of a building, The Digimon Empress couldn't be more disappointed. She had high hopes for that Tortomon, but it had failed. She was beginning to get frustrated.

The Digimon Empress reached into her belt for her whip and lashed it on the ground. She knew she'd have to hunt down another Digimon and whip it into shape so failures like this would not happen in the future.

But despite this latest failure, she knew that things weren't grim. In fact, everything was still going well. There were still many Digimon under the influence of Datamon's Black Gears and they would be more than ready for battle. And she couldn't forget one of her biggest advantages.

As she walked away, The Digimon Empress remembered the biggest thing she had going for her. None of the DigiDestined or these Tamers knew of her identity.

She planned to keep it that way.

* * *

It was another all-nighter for Yamaki. He was more than tempted to venture back on campus after hearing reports of something lurking in the university's cafeteria. He figured he could go back to the university and investigate what happened before…going back to grading his students' homework. But halfway there, he had noticed the streets were emptying.

Now Yamaki was on foot and quickly running in the opposite direction of where the people were evacuating. He was in the middle of an empty street. Nothing was happening. It was as if whatever was happening…had already ended.

Then he looked up at the sky and saw someone looking down from atop a building. It was someone in the shadows. He could barely make her out, but the figure was lashed a whip before turning to walk away.

He didn't know how he knew, but somehow he knew. Yamaki could sense that the person on the roof…was his mole.

And he vowed to find out who that mole was.

* * *

Puppetmon was in a rage. He couldn't believe that the Tortomon couldn't even come close to beating Angemon. He grabbed his hammer and was about to strike down on the giant supercomputer.

"NO!!" Datamon shouted. "Fool! That's very delicate equipment! You can't just smash it like it's one of your toys!"

"I gotta smash SOMETHING!" Puppetmon shot back. "Got any other suggestions?"

Before Datamon could suggest something else, Puppetmon turned towards a random RedVeggiemon under the influence of a Black Gear.

"Puppet Pummel!"

Puppetmon hit the RedVeggiemon with his Puppet Pummel attack, instantly deleting the big vegetable.

"Stop that!" Datamon snapped. "Bad Digimon are hard to find these days! And furthermore, you just wasted a perfectly good Black Gear! Haven't you ever heard of 'anger management'? Those Black Gears don't grow on trees, you know."

"So where do we go from here?" Puppetmon asked angrily.

Of course, it was at that moment that the frequency on the supercomputer began to change. The screen was showing a shadowy figure shrouded in darkness. Puppetmon recognized him as The Dark One.

"I take it things aren't going well?" The Dark One demanded.

"You might say that," Datamon answered. "We're having a few minor setbacks. But don't worry about a thing. We've got everything under control."

"It certainly does NOT appear that you have everything under control," The Dark One snarled.

"Don't get bent out of shape," Puppetmon sneered. "We'll take care of everything."

"You'd better! I don't want to be forced to take the DigiDestined out of the picture myself! If that happens, then rest assured that there will be consequences!"

With that, the feed quickly died. Puppetmon shook his head. Exchanges with The Dark One weren't a lot of fun. But he knew that when it came to The Dark One, a lot of fun was more than a possibility. It was a certainty.

"Now what do you think he meant by that?" Puppetmon asked.

"He probably meant he'll destroy you and The Digimon Empress," Datamon said casually. "He knows I'm much too valuable to destroy. After all, who's the one who's bringing him back? Me, of course. So I'd be careful if I were you."

"Then maybe we need a BETTER Digimon to send," Puppetmon suggested. "I'll be the one picking this time. Champions are chumps. We need something a little more…ultimate." He looked over the whole line of Digimon and that's when he found just the right one. "Hey, you look like you can get the job done."

Puppetmon looked at the big Digimon that would be sure to get some results. It was the mighty Minotaurumon. And with his brute strength, he would more than capable to demolish the DigiDestined and those new Tamers. This time, there would be no failure.

* * *

Yolei heard a knock on her door. She looked around to make sure her dorm room was clean. With Catherine out on her date with TK, that left Yolei alone to clean everything up for her guests. And her room was still quite a mess.

Unfortunately, that's when someone knocked on the door. Yolei gasped. She knew her room was a pigsty, so she sprung into action quickly. She gathered the clothes that were on the ground and tossed them in the hamper. She made her bed in the blink of an eye. And she sprayed aerosol like there was no tomorrow. As soon as her room looked presentable, she opened the door and grinned.

But the two standing at her door weren't exactly in the best mood. There stood Kari, holding Gatomon, and Rika and both had matching sour expressions. They both walked in, neither one looking at the other, and sat on opposite sides of Yolei's bed. Yolei began to sense some tension.

"Uh…where's Jeri?"

Kari turned her head to answer Yolei. "She's not coming. She said she had something to do."

That wasn't good news. While she didn't know Jeri too well, she looked like the best person to play peacemaker. Yolei knew she couldn't do it herself. She was far too blunt and the wrong words were more than likely to come out.

Yolei finally asked a big question. "Uh…is something wrong?"

"Everything's FINE!" both Kari and Rika snapped.

Yolei cringed at their tone. It sounded like they really weren't happy with one another. And she knew she couldn't handle a volatile situation like this on her own. That's when she got a lucky break and someone knocked on the door.

Yolei rushed over and opened the door. There stood Davis, Takato, and her own boyfriend, Ken. She never felt more relieved to have them there.

"Come on in!" Yolei grinned. "Sit down and relax."

Takato exchanged glances with Davis and Ken. "Well…we'd better bring in our 'stuffed animals'."

At first, Yolei thought they meant Veemon, Wormmon, and Guilmon. But she was surprised when they reached over and picked up…another pair of 'stuffed animals'. They were different. One was a purple little creature with pointy ears and a scarf around his neck and the other was a tiny white creature…with a big head.

Rika's eyes widened. "What are THEY doing here?"

As soon as the white one was gently placed on the ground, he ran straight up to Rika and joyfully jumped on her lap.

"Rika! I missed you!"

"Calumon, how did you get here?" Rika asked.

"I walked and hitchhiked with Impmon," Calumon answered cheerfully. "We didn't want to be left behind! We missed you!"

Impmon smirked. "You didn't really think I'd stay behind, did you?"

"I thought you had your own Tamers!" Rika pointed out.

"You think I'm going back with them?" Impmon shot back. "They already messed up with me again. I'm not giving them a chance for a third strike. Besides, that place is a dump anyway. I'd rather have some fun out here."

"Well, you can't stay here!" Rika snapped. "Things are already bad enough in our room! We're having enough problems without having to babysit you two."

"Actually, I think it's a good idea," Takato cut in. "I'm sure Impmon will be on his best behavior…hopefully. And maybe Calumon can help keep things peaceful between…you know."

That got Gatomon's attention. "Huh?"

Rika nodded. "True. Terriermon tried to play peacemaker last night and failed miserably. But Calumon's got this certain…innocence. It just might work, goggle head."

Calumon walked over to Gatomon. "Hi! You must be Gatomon."

"Yeah, that's me. I've never seen you before."

Calumon grabbed Gatomon's gloved paw and shook it. "I'm Calumon! Wanna be friends?"

Gatomon blinked, obviously being caught off-guard. "Friends? Uh…I don't see why not."

"Oh boy! You, me, and Renamon are all gonna have lots of fun!"

"You know Renamon?" Gatomon asked.

"Uh huh! Renamon's one of my best friends!"

Gatomon thought about that. "Friends? Renamon has a friend?"

"Yeah! Impmon's her friend, too! And we're all gonna get along, aren't we, Impmon?"

Impmon casually shrugged. "Eh, whatever."

"So after all these years, Renamon DOES have friends?" Gatomon muttered to herself.

"Ok, Takato, they can go ahead and stay in my room," Rika said. "But you owe me big time!"

"I always owe you big time," Takato smirked. "Pretty much everyone owes you except for…" Takato stopped in his tracks when he saw Rika glaring a hole right into him. "Um…never mind."

Having established these two new guests as mainstays, everyone finally started sitting down. Davis sat down beside Kari while Takato sat at the foot of the bed. Calumon cheerfully took his seat on Rika's lap while Impmon just calmly sat next to her. And Yolei walked over to her bed, making sure to leave a space for Ken.

Ken walked over and whispered in her ear. "Is everything ok? I can sense that things between Kari and Rika aren't…what they should be."

It was true. Yolei looked around and saw that they were still occasionally shooting death glares at one another.

"Just ignore them," Yolei whispered. "Maybe they'll get over whatever's wrong by the end of the night. At least we can hope."

Yolei looked forward to finally starting the movie, but there was yet another delay. Someone else was knocking on the door. Yolei grumbled as she walked over to answer the door. And there was another grinning guest.

"Hey Yolei!"

"Cody? How'd you…?"

But before Yolei could even finish her question, someone else poked their head in. For her, this was more than an uninvited guest.

"Ken!"

It was that Rosa girl. And before Yolei could even say anything, she rushed right in and took her seat…next to Ken. Yolei could feel her blood start to boil. She turned and grabbed Cody by the collar.

"What's…SHE doing here?" she demanded through gritted teeth.

"Don't look at me," Cody grumbled back. "She just ran into me as I got here. What'd you want me to do? Just say no?"

"Yes!" Yolei growled softly. "And how did you find this place anyway? I didn't think you knew where the sophomore dorms were."

"Oh, you can thank me for that."

Yolei looked up and saw that Jeri had come back. She looked a little worse for the wear, as if she had been running around all night. Jeri walked in and took her seat next to Takato. Yolei was just standing by the door trying to absorb everything that happened. Her room was getting pretty crowded. There were about eight people and two Digimon.

"I need some fresh air," Yolei sighed.

Yolei was about to walk out by herself, but to her surprise, Kari came out right behind her.

"Uh…Yolei? Can I come too? I could use a little air, myself."

Of course, with Kari coming out, it didn't take long for Davis to come out right behind her. While Yolei was hoping for a little time to herself, she didn't mind having a few friends around.

"Yolei, you want me to come with you?" Ken asked.

"Don't bother," Yolei growled.

With that, Yolei just walked out, not even checking to see if Kari and Davis were following along. All she wanted was to get away from Ken and Rosa. If Ken wanted to be with that other girl, she wouldn't get in their way.

* * *

Finally, after a long night, Kazu reached campus once more. It was good to be back after a long and eventful day. But he looked in the back and saw that everything wasn't over just yet.

Kenta was riding shotgun while Henry, Terriermon, TK, and Patamon were all riding in the second row. But they weren't the ones Kazu was concerned with. His problem was lying in the very back. It was his own partner, Guardromon.

"I don't think tonight would be a good night to bring him in," Kazu said slowly.

"We can always wait for tomorrow," Kenta replied. "It's only Sunday. We've got the whole day."

"I guess you're right," Kazu agreed. "Will you be ok in here, Guardromon?"

"I'll be just fine, Kazu."

"Ok, sit tight and don't move an inch until I say so. We'll be back tomorrow."

Kazu tried to analyze what he just said. It was pretty clear cut. There was nothing that could possibly mix up the big robot. Feeling comfortable, Kazu parked in the only available parking space and brought the van to a halt. Everyone headed out the door and started walking towards the freshman dorms.

Kazu quickly followed suit. While this wasn't the ideal Saturday, there was always next week. His college life was just getting started.

* * *

Feeling tired, TK just headed back to the freshman dorms with his friends. It wasn't exactly the ideal night he was hoping for. The date ended prematurely and he wandered right into a rampaging Tortomon. This wasn't his idea of a good Saturday night.

"TK?"

But it just got better. TK turned around and saw Catherine. He looked over and saw that his friends had stopped in their tracks as well upon seeing the French beauty.

TK frowned. "Guys? A little privacy?"

Henry was able to shake it off and drag drooling Kazu and Kenta back into the dorm building. "Sure thing, TK. Good night."

With his friends back inside, TK turned back around to face Catherine. "Hi! You're getting back in pretty late."

Catherine sighed. "I just had some business to take care of. I'm really sorry I had to cut our date short, TK. I feel terrible about it."

"Ah, don't worry about it. It's not like you could do anything about it. Besides, I had a great time. Maybe we can try again sometime?"

"I'd like that!"

As he saw Catherine's face light up, TK could sense that the time wouldn't be any better. Sure, he already got a kiss that night, but that was an on-the-run kiss. TK wanted something…a little more than that. He wanted something more…romantic. So he leaned over slowly and so did Catherine. But…

The door to the freshman dorm building opened. Someone was walking out.

"Oh…I hope I didn't interrupt anything."

The forward motion stopped. There was no kiss. TK turned his head to see a familiar face. But what he didn't remember was that it was also a familiar face to someone else.

Catherine gasped. "Tai?! Is that you?!"

Tai Kamiya, who was just walking out, just blinked. He didn't recognize her. "Uh…yeah."

"Do you remember me? It's Catherine!"

Tai's face brightened. "I remember you! Who could forget such a beautiful face?!" He quickly threw his arms around her. "You've grown up so much! I never thought I'd see you again! It's been so long! What's it been? About seven years?"

Catherine nodded. "I think time has done you well, Tai. You certainly look much more handsome."

"You think so?" Tai asked happily. "You don't think I look…old or anything, do you?"

"Don't be silly, Tai. You may be growing older, but I imagine that you're also becoming much more mature."

"I'll bet you're pretty mature, yourself. Why don't we go in my room and talk about it? I can introduce you to my roommate and best friend."

"I'd like that!"

Suddenly, Tai was walking back into the dorm building with Catherine by his side. TK couldn't help but notice that he was now by himself. Out of nowhere, Tai had just barged in and left with his girl.

TK looked into the sky and shouted. "Hey! What about me?!"

  


Next Week: We take a look at an eventful Sunday. Izzy, Joe, and Cody all take the day to research the Blue Card and Digivice. Does an old friend come to check in on them? Kazu gets ready to move Guardromon into his room, but is it as easy as it looks? What's the fallout from Saturday night as it regards TK, Catherine, and Tai? And speaking of Tai, he's still feeling a little old. How far is he about to go in order to feel young?! All this, plus Rika's about to get an unexpected surprise! You won't want to miss this on the next Digimon: The College Years!

  


Any comments? Then mail me at AmericanCaptor@hotmail.com and don't forget to review below!


	12. A Day Of Rest

Last Week: Saturday night turned out to be a busy one. Kari and Rika got in their first (and what certainly won't be their last) argument over just what a breakup means. Impmon and Calumon met up with their new neighbors while Takato suggested that Calumon play peacemaker between the feuding Gatomon and Renamon. TK and Catherine went on their date, which was cut short when the French girl had to leave. When TK left, he saw Tortomon on a rampage. Henry, Kazu, and Kenta arrived at the same time and Angemon and Guardromon teamed up to take out the Black Gear that was controlling Tortomon. Once everyone got back, TK ran into Catherine again and just as he was about to make his move, Tai showed up. Tai ended up walking back in with Catherine, leaving TK out in the cold. Is there jealousy in the air?

  


**Digimon: The College Years**

Episode 12- A Day of Rest

  


Sunday was here and the clock was nearing noon. Davis had listened intently to TK the whole morning. He was more than eager to hear about his date, but so far, everything he had heard turned out to be totally unexpected.

He didn't think he'd hear that another Digimon had gone on a rampage in downtown Odaiba. It was a good thing that Patamon was following along and that Henry, Kazu, and Kenta were also in the neighborhood. They certainly prevented a disaster from happening.

But the other Davis didn't expect to hear was that TK's night ended with watching Tai and Catherine walk in together. It didn't sound like an ideal way to end a date.

"So…Tai met Catherine too?" Davis asked.

TK nodded. "He went with me to France, remember? We both met Catherine that night. And I guess Catherine remembers him, too. I just can't believe she left me to go in with Tai."

"I'm sure it doesn't mean anything, TK," Ken offered. "They were probably just happy to see each other."

"She didn't even say 'good night'!" TK growled. "And Tai didn't exactly do anything to help my cause either!"

"Can you blame him?" Patamon grinned.

TK shot his partner a cold stare. "Thanks a lot!"

"I'm just joking, TK," Patamon frowned. "Come on! You know Tai wouldn't do anything like that to you. I mean…he DOES know you two were on a date, right? It's not like he wasn't aware of it."

"He has to have been aware of it," TK replied. "I mean, I didn't tell him, but he clearly saw me going in for a kiss. He's not dense."

"Well…I don't know," Davis mused. "If it was me, I wouldn't have known."

TK thought about that. Tai and Davis were a lot alike, and that meant…

TK hung his head down. "Oh, no!"

"Maybe you should talk to him," Veemon suggested.

"I'm sure you'll get the chance," Wormmon added. "After all, you both live in the same building. Maybe it's best if you just talk about it."

As if on cue, someone knocked on the door. Veemon, Patamon, and Wormmon all went into their stuffed animal acts while Davis went to answer the door. The three Digimon all unfroze at the sight of Tai.

"Just came to say hello," Tai said. "So how are you guys doing?"

"Oh, we're doing great," TK answered nonchalantly. "So…uh…how was last night? I'm guessing you and Catherine spent the whole night together?"

"We lost track of time," Tai smiled. "We had a lot to catch up on. I can't believe she's actually coming here. If I hadn't seen you two outside last night, I might have never found her."

"Didn't you notice ANYTHING happening, Tai?" TK demanded. "I don't know, something like…me…and her…trying to move in for a KISS?!"

"I don't remember anything like that," Tai said naïvely. "Were you two in the middle of something?"

"We were in the middle of a DATE!"

"Oh, you two were dating? I didn't know that. If I had known, I wouldn't have asked Catherine out next weekend."

"You asked her out?!" TK demanded. "I can't believe you!"

"Hmm…I'm guessing that I probably shouldn't tell you she said 'yes'."

"She said 'YES'?!"

"Yeah, we're going out this weekend. Jeez, TK, you sound upset."

"I was dating her first, Tai! How could you just move in on her?"

"I didn't know. I thought she was still single."

Davis cleared his throat. "Uh…technically…she IS single. She hasn't made a commitment yet…"

"Stay out of this, Davis!" TK groaned. "You're not helping!"

"No, he makes a good point," Tai shot back. "Catherine hasn't made a commitment to you. If she had, then she wouldn't have agreed to go out with me."

"But she kissed me at the restaurant last night!" TK pointed out. "Doesn't that count for anything?"

"Well…she IS French," Ken cut in.

"It's probably something all French girls do," Davis added.

"STAY OUT OF THIS!!" both TK and Tai snapped.

"What's the big deal, TK?" Tai asked smugly. "You afraid she'll have more fun with me?"

"You think I'm afraid of you?" TK scoffed.

"Why wouldn't you be?" Tai smirked. "Have you seen my track record? Every girl falls for me at some point."

"Every girl except Sora."

"Ok, every girl except Sora! But Sora's always had eyes for Matt. Catherine definitely does not have eyes for you!"

"I think you're wrong about that!" TK shot back. "I'm a pretty smooth guy, myself! And I've got a lot going for me! I'm sweet, handsome, and definitely YOUNGER!"

Silence. Tai didn't have a response for that one and Davis realized that it stemmed from the insecurities he had about his age. He couldn't have been comfortable with TK pointing that out.

TK walked up to Tai and ran a finger through his poofy hair. TK pulled his finger out and it was literally dripping with brown gunk.

TK smirked. "I don't have to resort to using 'Just For Men'."

Tai turned around and had his back to everyone. "So you're gonna throw that in my face, huh? I'll show you! I'll show everybody! I'm still young and I'll prove it!"

Having said those ominous words, Tai stormed out. TK won this battle of words, but it looked like a war was brewing.

Davis couldn't help but be a little worried. "I don't like the sound of that."

Even TK looked worried. "Something tells me he's about to do something crazy."

Of course, just like his roommates, Davis could only guess what his idol had in mind. All they could do was wait.

* * *

Tai made a beeline for the main door of the freshman building. After that argument with TK, he was feeling older than ever. But he would soon fix that. He had something in mind. Something that would have him feeling younger than he ever felt before.

"Tai?"

Tai passed through his room. The door was open and Matt quickly walked over to catch up to him.

"We still meeting Sora and Mimi for lunch?"

Tai shook his head and kept going. "Go without me. I've got to head out for a minute."

"Where are you going?"

"I've got something I need to do. Something that'll prove I'm still young!"

Matt groaned. "Tai, you don't have to prove that! You ARE young!"

"I still have to prove that to myself."

Matt groaned a second and snarled under his breath. "Tai…"

Tai wasn't listening. He headed out the door and didn't look back.

* * *

Kazu stood at the back door of his van and knew just what he had to do. It wouldn't be a tough task, but he would likely have to answer some reluctant questions if and when he was spotted. But it was the only way to do things right.

"Well, this is it. You ready, Kenta?"

Kenta sighed. "Let's get this over with."

Kazu reached in the back of his van and reached for a piece of Guardromon. Yes, Guardromon had been taken apart into several pieces. That way, Kazu and Kenta could take each piece of Guardromon in one at a time and reconstruct him later. Kazu grabbed Guardromon's head while Kenta grabbed his two arms.

"I feel like I'm having an out-of-body experience," Guardromon's head cracked.

"Unless you want me to dump your head in the toilet, no more bad jokes!" Kazu snapped.

"Yeah, leave the jokes to me," Kenta grinned as he held up Guardromon's arms. "When it comes to comedy arsenals, I'm armed."

"That's enough," Kazu groaned. "I hope I don't have to put up with these horrendous jokes the whole day."

"Calm down, Kazu," Guardromon said gently. "Pull…"

"Don't even think about telling me to pull myself together!" Kazu muttered through gritted teeth.

"Calm down, Kazu," Kenta said innocently. "Don't go all to pieces."

"Let's just get this over with!" Kazu yelled.

After getting the amateur-night comedy routine out of the way, Kazu carried Guardromon's head and Kenta carried Guardromon's arms towards the front door of the hall. But before Kazu could reach over to open the door, the door flew open and nailed him. The contact resulted in him dropping his Digimon's head…which landed on his foot.

"OW!!"

"Oh, sorry about that," RA Tai Kamiya said. "I was just on my way…uh…what are you guys doing?"

"Bringing in Guardromon," Kenta answered. "That's Kazu's Digimon partner."

"Looks like you got your work cut out for you," Tai said. "I'd better get going, but good luck bringing him in. Don't lose your head."

Kazu groaned. "Oh jeez."

"Good luck, guys," Tai grinned.

Tai walked off, leaving Kazu and Kenta alone with the spare parts that were Guardromon. Kazu picked up the head and decided to keep going.

"Ok, let's keep going. You ready, Kenta?"

"Yeah. Let's 'head' inside."

Kazu shot his friend a cold stare.

Kenta grinned. "Sorry."

* * *

Izzy was deep in concentration. Whenever he was this deep in thought, he could hardly be bothered. Everything around him was just a blank to him. In this entire weekend, he hadn't even left his apartment. Even now, he was in the living room of his apartment, deep in thought. Izzy could only focus on the task in front of him.

Right now, that task was researching this Blue Card that Takato had given to him. There were so many questions running through Izzy's mind. He was always the most curious one of the entire group, but never had his curiosity been this high before. There was so much he didn't know. There was so much he STILL didn't know.

Joe and Cody were both looking on intently. Both had come along to help in any way they could. Tentomon, Gomamon, and Armadillomon all watched from the couch. Cody had just arrived since dragging Armadillomon around was tougher than it looked. Things weren't as easy for the younger DigiDestined since their Digimon decided to stay in their rookie level in the real world.

"What do you see, Izzy?" Cody asked.

"I've analyzed this Blue Card thoroughly and meticulously," Izzy replied. "I scoured every inch of it and ran it through every program in my laptop, trying to piece it together with anything we've seen in the Digital World."

"And what do you see?" Joe asked.

Izzy took his eye off the Blue Card and sighed. "Absolutely nothing. I don't understand it. I've done every test I could possibly conduct and I haven't been able to come up with any conclusions. I don't even have a feasible theory! I just have no clue about this Blue Card, where it got its power, where it came from, or even how it came into existence!"

Tentomon wandered over and offered a snack. "Whoa, Izzy! Your head looks like it's about to explode! Relax! Have a cookie!"

Izzy shook his head. "I'm not in the mood for an oatmeal. Er…got any chocolate chip?"

Joe took the Blue Card and eyed it, himself. "I've seen you solve some strange mysteries before, Izzy. You were able to piece together a lot of info when it came to our crests and tags."

"And whenever any of us needed your help, you were always the one to go to," Cody added.

"You're saying you have nothing?" Joe asked. "Not even a vague little theory?"

Izzy shook his head. "I've had a chance to talk to Takato and Henry before today. And they've given me some instances in which the Blue Card has shown its power. But what I don't know is, where does that power come from?"

"It's times like this I wish Gennai was here," Cody sighed. "Maybe he could answer some of these questions for us."

"Did somebody call me?"

Izzy's ears were burning. He hadn't heard that voice in many years. The voice came from his laptop. He turned around and looked over at his laptop and saw a young cloaked figure on the screen.

"Gennai!"

Izzy didn't waste any time in rushing to his laptop to open a Digiport. Once it was open, Gennai came through and landed in Izzy's living room. It had been so long since Gennai had last made contact with any of the DigiDestined. Izzy, in particular, felt isolated since Gennai would come to him the most. But here he was again. Unexpectedly, Gennai had returned and looked delighted to see his old friends.

Gennai looked around at all the six stunned faces. "I take it you weren't expecting me?"

"We don't know WHEN to expect you anymore, Gennai," Joe answered.

"We haven't seen you in years!" Cody added.

Izzy walked over to old DigiDestined ally. "I was starting to think we'd never see you again."

Gennai's smile faded. "I didn't want to be away for so long. Believe me, I haven't been closer to anybody than you all, the DigiDestined."

"I'm not really getting that feeling," Armadillomon cut in. "From what I hear, there are others that have been getting some attention."

"That's right!" Joe added. "We just got acquainted with this new breed that call themselves Digimon Tamers. And they tell us that they went through a grueling ordeal of their own to save the Digital World."

Gennai nodded. "You must mean the terrible ordeal involving the D-Reaper. The four Digimon Sovereigns were very worried about what would happen. They thought the D-Reaper would completely overwhelm the entire world."

"That's one of the things we've been meaning to talk to you about," Izzy began. "If this threat was as big as you say it is, then why weren't any of us notified? I'm pretty sure we could have handled whatever was threatening the two worlds. Why did you take a chance with a whole new breed?"

Gennai sighed, searching for an explanation. "It wasn't up to me. The Sovereigns felt that was the best course of action to take. Well…three of them did, anyway. Around the time that the D-Reaper incident started, there were many chosen to become Digimon Tamers. It was more than just the eight or nine who aided in the fight against the D-Reaper. Like the DigiDestined, there are Tamers all over."

"But why Tamers?" Izzy asked again. "Why use them when they could have used us or any of the other International DigiDestined?"

"The Sovereigns had other reasons for putting the Tamers on the front line," Gennai explained. "The Tamers were also…for lack of a better word…an experiment. They aren't DigiDestined and as they aren't DigiDestined, that also left room for many differences. Have any of you fought alongside the Tamers?"

"I talked to Davis yesterday," Cody answered. "He fought with Takato on Friday night and he tells me that the Tamers have a totally different style of battling."

"The Tamers have a unique style all their own," Gennai continued. "There's even one more drastic difference that you have yet to see. One that helped them defeat the D-Reaper menace once and for all. One I hope will come into play sometime in the future.

"The reason the Sovereigns experimented with Tamers is because…there's another threat looming on the horizon. One that none of them or myself have been able to identify. That's part of the reason why you haven't heard from me in so many years. I was needed."

"Needed?" Cody repeated.

Gennai nodded. "For the past few years, all hasn't been well in the Digital World. I've been needed for the past number of years to help tend to a situation that has even the four Digimon Sovereigns in a frenzy."

"It's that bad?" Gomamon asked.

"I'm afraid so."

"What is it?" Tentomon asked.

"There's an evil presence that I haven't felt in a long time," Gennai answered. "A presence similar to that of…one of the old Dark Masters. It's as if…one of them has returned."

"Do you think one of them has been reconfigured?" Izzy suggested.

Gennai nodded. "That's the most likely scenario. Piedmon may be stuck in MagnaAngemon's Gate of Destiny, but it's a real possibility that any of the other three Dark Masters have been reconfigured. But I'm afraid it doesn't end there. I sense something greater. For the past few years, I sensed an extreme evil. An evil that eclipses even that of Apocalymon.

"I wasn't the only one to sense it. The four Digimon Sovereigns have sensed it as well. That's why I was called. I was sent to find out just what this evil was. And for that, I had to scour the other three regions of the Digital World."

"The other three regions?" Joe repeated.

"When your adventure began, the three of you and the rest of the DigiDestined traveled through Azulongmon's region of the Digital World. The region the Tamers traveled through belonged to Zhuqiaomon. I traveled through those two regions along with the land belonging to Baihumon and Ebiwumon, trying to find anything that might lead me to the evil that we've been sensing. After all those years, I hadn't found a thing.

"I'm convinced that there are a lot of pieces to this puzzle. Whatever evil is lurking out there will soon show itself. I'm sure of it. And we'll eventually see what we're up against."

After hearing that long-winded explanation, Izzy had one question. "But if this threat has been around for as long as you say it's been, then why are we just learning about it now?"

Gennai sighed deeply. "I know what an important time this is in your life. You're all in college. And I didn't want something like this to interfere. I wanted to try and handle it myself. But I guess that's no longer possible."

Joe smirked. "Gennai, we've balanced school and saving the world before. What makes you think we can't do it this time?"

"I think I see what you mean," Izzy told Gennai. "College is a whole different world. It's not like high school or elementary school. It requires a lot more and is a lot more pressure. And if we have to worry about saving the world 24 hours a day, our grades would suffer as a result."

"This may be your greatest challenge," Gennai said ominously. "To fight an unknown evil…and STILL keep up with college. And for this challenge, you'll have to team up with the Digimon Tamers as well. Are you all up to it?"

"I think you know the answer to that," Joe answered.

Cody cleared his throat. "Ahem…"

Gennai nodded. "I know you're not in college yet, Cody. But you get the general idea."

"Gennai, as long as you're here, I have some questions regarding these Tamers," Izzy said. He held up the Blue Card. "I've been trying to study this Blue Card for days and I haven't been able to gather any information. Do you know anything about it?"

Gennai took the Blue Card in his hand. He nodded knowingly and that gave Izzy the impression that he knew something about it.

"This Blue Card was made by a human known as Shibumi. However, he was unaware of the power he had unleashed by creating it. The Blue Card is what brought Digimon and their Tamers together. But there's definitely more power to it than that. It also allows the Tamers' Digimon to reach the ultimate level."

"You mean without the use of crests or any other outside power?" Joe wondered.

"That's right. While your Digimon are now able to Digivolve to ultimate through the power of Azulongmon's cores, the Tamers' Digimon can reach ultimate by swiping the Blue Card through their Digivices."

"A much more efficient and reliable method," Izzy noted. "I can see why the Sovereigns wanted to experiment with that." Izzy looked over Henry's Digivice. "There seems to be a slot to scan cards through, just like Davis described to me."

"The Tamers can access their card deck to aid them in battle," Gennai clarified. "That's how these Digivices were specially designed."

"It looks like they have it so much better than us," Cody thought. "Everything seems to be a step above what the DigiDestined have."

"That's not necessarily true," Gennai said. "Tamers also have their disadvantages. Unlike DigiDestined, Tamers cannot use their Digivices to access the Digital World or open Digiports. Another disadvantage is that champion and ultimate level Digimon cannot just revert to their rookie form at will. They have to wait for the Digimon to run out of energy first."

"Doesn't that create a problem?" Tentomon asked. "Digimon at the champion and ultimate level can be…pretty big."

Gennai nodded. "That's very true. We're lucky those Tamers are particularly resourceful."

Izzy kept eyeing Henry's Digivice. "Cody, hand me your Digivice."

Cody reached into his pocket and took out his D-3. Izzy took it and compared it to the D-Arc. They were certainly different in design. There was another comparison Izzy needed to make.

"Joe, hand me your Digivice."

Joe reached into his bag and searched for his Digivice. Izzy started to get nervous when Joe was taking longer than he should have. Pretty soon, Joe started scrambling and tossing his things out of his bag.

"Something wrong, Joe?" Gomamon asked.

"M-My Digivice! It's not here!"

Gennai's eyes widened. "You LOST your Digivice?!"

Joe looked to be deep in thought. "I couldn't have lost it! I haven't opened my bag at all and I sure didn't take it out. The only time my bag opened was…"

That's when Joe's eyes widened. It looked like the answer hit him like a ton of bricks. Gomamon jumped off the couch and inched slowly towards his partner.

"Joe…?"

"Yesterday," Joe muttered slowly. "Gomamon…remember when we bumped into that woman?"

"That Ms. Mackenzie lady?" Gomamon guessed. "She has your Digivice?"

"Joe, what's going on?" Izzy finally asked.

"I was heading off to a meeting yesterday morning. And while I was on my way there, I accidentally ran into an older woman named Layla Mackenzie. Our bags opened up and everything fell to the ground. I'm guessing that in the rush to pick everything up, we must have gotten some of our things mixed up. She must have grabbed my Digivice by mistake!"

Izzy was in disbelief. "How could you lose your Digivice?!"

"Izzy, don't worry about it. She said she was the RD in the freshman hall. If anything, I can ask one of the others to get it for me."

Gennai nodded knowingly. "I can see that you haven't lost your curiosity, Izzy. During the next few months, you'll learn about your new teammates, the Tamers. And I have a feeling that this evil will show itself soon. That's why you may need some help."

"Help?" the three DigiDestined and their Digimon repeated.

Gennai smirked. "I'll explain that when the time comes. Until then, I need to return to the Digital World and recruit a couple of helpers. For that, I'll need Armadillomon."

Armadillomon didn't expect that one. He pointed at himself. "Me?"

"You've got a big job ahead of you and I'll need your help," Gennai replied.

Armadillomon jumped off the couch and walked to Gennai's side. Izzy wished he had all the answers, but there was a lot he still didn't know. He didn't know what this threat Gennai spoke of was. He was also curious about this help that Gennai spoke of and the power that they have yet to see from the Tamers.

Gennai headed over to the laptop while Izzy opened up the Digiport. "Good luck, my friends. You'll need it. Saving the world and going through college won't be easy."

With that, Gennai and Armadillomon went through the Digiport. Izzy still had his questions, but for right now, he'd take what he had. After that visit, Izzy turned back to his friends.

"Um…I guess we're done for the day."

Joe sighed. "Come on, Gomamon. We'd better call Tai and Matt to get my Digivice."

"I've got a test tomorrow," Cody said. "I guess I'd better get home."

"Wait a second, guys," Izzy called out. "Maybe we shouldn't call it a day just yet. Come with me to the university to give Henry his Digivice and Takato his Blue Card. And help me explain to them what we just heard."

"Being a freshman in college is hard enough," Joe thought. "I don't think this'll strike them as good news."

"We'd better go anyway," Izzy muttered. "And maybe you can get your Digivice back."

Everyone concurred with that. Joe picked up Gomamon and Tentomon flew over to Izzy. With everyone present, it was time to head over to Odaiba University.

* * *

With the mystery solved, The Den was up and running again. Once again, it was business as usual and hundreds of college students packed the cafeteria for lunch. That was good news for Davis. This gave him a chance to have lunch with Kari.

But while he feasted heartily on a submarine sandwich, salad, potato chips, quesadilla, and Diet Coke, he noticed that Kari hadn't touched her salad. She looked distressed.

"Aren't you hungry, Kari?" Davis asked.

Kari looked over at Davis and just smiled. "Uh…I lost my appetite. I'm not really feeling very hungry."

After knowing her for all these years, Davis felt like he could read Kari like a book. There was something bothering her. And he knew what it was.

"It's TK, isn't it?"

"What makes you think that?" Kari asked in shock.

"Because I know you, Kari," Davis answered. "I know better than anybody what you and TK had. And I know it isn't easy for you to see him dating again."

"I just feel like it came so soon," Kari said sadly. "I didn't expect him to find someone so quickly. Davis, I feel like he's forgotten about me. And why wouldn't he? Have you seen that Catherine girl? Perfect long blond hair, flawless-looking skin, strong fashion sense, a French accent. She's just so beautiful and I'm so…"

That got Davis's ire up. "Don't even say it!"

"You don't even know what I was going to say."

"It doesn't matter! I know what you're thinking and it's not true, Kari! How could you EVER doubt yourself?! You're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen in my life! And that's not just outside, it's inside too! Some French girl can only WISH to be like you!"

Kari smiled. "You really believe that?"

Davis reached over and held Kari's hand. "I really do."

Kari looked into Davis's eyes and smiled. "I want to apologize to you, Davis. I don't know why I'm just so concerned about what TK's doing."

"You're not totally over him," Davis answered matter-of-factly. "But you're getting there. You were together for almost six years. I don't blame you for feeling the way you do."

Kari hung her head down. "I don't deserve someone like you, Davis. You've been so patient with me. Anyone else would have kicked me and my excess baggage to the curb."

Davis smirked. "I'm not like anyone else. I thought you'd understand that by now."

Kari giggled. "You're right. I should know that by now. Maybe I should just put this behind me. I didn't mean to slap TK like that. I should go apologize. And I should wish him and Catherine the best."

"I don't know if you should go that far," Davis said skeptically. "I'm honestly not sure how much further it'll go between those two."

"What makes you say that?"

"Because Catherine's going out with someone else this Friday."

Kari scowled. "I knew it! It didn't take long for her to hurt him. Is TK taking it well?"

"He thinks he can still win her over. But what's got him mad is who she's going out with."

"Who's she going out with?"

"Tai."

Kari nearly did a spit take with her Diet Pepsi. "TAI?! My BROTHER, TAI?! That French hussy's moving in on my BROTHER?!"

Davis could have calmed Kari down with some simple soothing words. He could have relieved all of her anxieties. It was a simple task. But instead, he started snickering.

"You know, it's kinda funny. If Tai marries Catherine, that'd make you two sisters."

That crack resulted in Davis getting Diet Pepsi splashed on him. Kari got up and started storming out. After checking on his goggles, Davis quickly gave chase.

"Kari, I was just joking! They hardly know each other. Well…they did meet up in France seven years ago. But…KARI! Where are you going? I'm sorry!"

* * *

It didn't happen very often, but Rika was honestly feeling at ease. For the first time in a while, Gatomon and Renamon were actually starting to get along. They were both on Kari's bed with Calumon, sitting calmly and watching TV. They were all watching the NBA Finals (tape delayed for fans in Japan, of course) and it looked like there were no signs of hostility between the two.

That gave Rika the opportunity she wanted. With the Digimon getting along and Kari having lunch with Davis, that gave Rika the chance to do her homework in peace. It was times like these that she almost expected Jeri to ask her something, but she was off starting her new job at the OU library. Rika was on her own and she wouldn't have it any other way.

Or at least she was on her own until she saw pair of purple fingertips grab a hold of her pen. It was Impmon, who was standing on top of her desk.

"What is it, Impmon?"

"Just wanted to talk to you for a little bit," Impmon said. "We haven't talked in a while. So how you doin?"

"Just fine," Rika muttered. "A little busy, but fine."

"Last I heard, you and Ryo had some kind of falling out. What happened between the two of you?"

That was the last thing Rika wanted to hear. Many had hinted towards it and Rika was able to cut them off before they went any further. This was the first time she was given that harsh reminder. Even being vaguely reminded of what happened was enough for her. So she grabbed her math book and clocked Impmon over the head with it.

"I don't want to talk about it!" Rika snapped. "How did you find out about that, anyway?!"

"I have my sources," Impmon smirked. "So what happened? Does it have anything to do with…?"

"I said I don't want to talk about it! Go away!"

Rika pushed Impmon off her desk and went back to her studies, trying to forget everything she just heard. Seeing he wouldn't be getting anywhere, Impmon walked over to Kari's bed.

"She still mad about that?"

"It hit her pretty hard," Renamon answered.

"What happened?" Calumon asked.

"I doubt she'd want to hear it," Renamon replied. "If she does not wish to remember, then I shall respect that."

Rika started to feel better. Renamon was the best friend she had and it relieved her that she was willing to keep quiet about what happened just for her.

Impmon looked over at the TV screen. "What are you two watching?"

"Basketball!" Calumon answered excitedly. "Finals!"

Impmon looked at the TV curiously. "Another one of those weird human sports? So who's who? I see a bunch of guys in gold jerseys and a bunch of guys in gray jerseys."

"The humans in the gray jerseys are the Nets," Renamon explained. "And they are about to crush the humans in the gold jerseys, the Lakers."

"Uh-uh!" Gatomon disagreed. "The Lakers are about to take it!"

"Nets."

"Lakers."

"Nets!"

"Lakers!"

"NETS!"

"LAKERS!"

It was the first argument that had erupted between Renamon and Gatomon in a while. Rika was impressed that they held it in for so long. It looked like Calumon WAS having a positive influence on them. Luckily, this particular instance of bickering was cut off by the phone.

Rika reached over and picked it up. "Hello?"

_"Hey there! It's been a long time since I've heard the sound of your voice."_

Just the sound of that voice made Rika's blood boil. "How did you get this number?!"

_"I got it from Takato. I see you're your usual, cheerful self."_

"I'll be a lot more cheerful as soon as I hang up!"

_"Rika! I'm guessing that you aren't exactly happy to hear from me?"_

"Whatever gave you that idea?" Rika muttered sarcastically.

_"I can tell you're still pretty upset. What if I told you that it won't last much longer?"_

"What are you talking about?"

_"I'm not staying as long as I thought. I'm coming back a lot sooner than you might think. You feeling better?"_

Rika didn't feel better at all. "Are you THAT thick-headed?! You think THAT'S what made me mad?!"

_"You mean it's not?"_

"NO! You can stay in Hong Kong for all I care! Get back to me the day you finally get a clue!"

With that, Rika hung up. After that phone call, she saw four curious Digimon staring right at her, wanting to know what just happened. But Rika intended to stay quiet. She didn't want any reminder.

She didn't want to hear from Ryo Akiyama again.

* * *

Sunday was starting to wind down. As a graduate student attempting to get her Master's Degree, Ms. Mackenzie knew she had a lot of work to do. Aside from her duties as Resident Director, she also had a lot of homework left from her classes. Work that she had yet to get started on. Her desk had a stack of books on it, which she would be studying with the whole night.

Now it was time for her to get to work. So she got her bag and turned it upside-down. As she expected, a pile of books fell out along with several calculators and small boxes. But she couldn't help but notice that something else fell out.

A small little device fell out of the bag. It looked like a small, handheld electronic device with a clear screen in the middle. Ms. Mackenzie picked it up and eyed it closely. That's when she realized something.

"Just like the prophecy…"

Before she could analyze it any further, someone knocked on her door. She nearly jumped out of her seat, obviously caught off-guard. She placed the small apparatus on her desk and walked over to answer the door. She opened the door to reveal the same young man she bumped into the day before.

"Hi! You probably don't remember me, but…we bumped into each other yesterday and…I'm afraid we might have gotten some of our things mixed up. Do you have a…small little electronic gadget that you might have picked up by mistake?"

Ms. Mackenzie looked over at her desk. She slowly walked over and picked it up. She eyed it one more time, confirming that it was the same type of device she saw before.

"I remember you, Joe. And you're right. I believe this does belong to you."

She slowly handed the electronic device to Joe and got a good look at him. She wanted to make sure to remember him.

Ms. Mackenzie gave him a cryptic smile. "I'll see you around."

Joe nodded. "Thanks. I'll…see you later."

Ms. Mackenzie watched as Joe walked down the hall and towards the exit of the freshman hall. She began to remember what she had seen before she arrived at Odaiba University.

"The forces of good and evil shall engage in a fierce battle," she muttered to herself. "Those that hold a Digivice shall be pitted against the powers of the darkness."

That's how the prophecy goes. And Ms. Mackenzie could feel that she would see the prophecy come true before her very eyes.

* * *

Sitting up in Sora and Mimi's room, Matt didn't waste any time digging in on his leftover lunch. Once he felt any sign of hunger come back, he rushed back to his leftovers. He could see Sora and Mimi trying to work on their fashion designs, but they couldn't help but stare and sweatdrop when they heard the hungry Matt.

"And they say In-Training Digimon have insatiable appetites," Mimi quipped. "Matt, you just ate!"

"I got hungry again," Matt replied casually. "Hey Mimi, you gonna eat that biscuit?"

Mimi sighed. "Go ahead."

Matt reached over and started feasting on Mimi's biscuit. Mimi and Sora sweatdropped. So did the two fashion guinea pigs, Biyomon and Palmon.

Mimi looked over at her business partner. "Sora, you know I love having your boyfriend over and all, but I hope he won't distract you. We're on a deadline."

"Don't worry about a thing, Mimi," Sora responded assuredly. "I know we have to have this order ready by Friday. I can totally ignore Matt."

Matt frowned. "Hey!"

Sora giggled. "Sorry, Matt. You know what I mean. There's not a thing that'll distract me." That's when the phone started to ring. "Matt, could you answer that for me?"

Matt reached over and answered the phone. "Hello? You've reached the main office of S & M."

"MATT!" Sora snapped. "I told you not to call it that!"

Matt couldn't help but chuckle. So did the voice on the other end of the line.

_"Great to see you remember that one, Matt."_

"Tai? Where are you? I haven't seen you since you left."

_"I'm on my way back. In fact, I should be back on campus in a few minutes."_

"What? Tai, I can hardly hear you! There seems to be some noise in the background! What is that?"

_"Oh, you'll see! Why don't you come down to the parking lot and find out? Bring Sora and Mimi! For that matter, drag your brother out, too! I want him to see this!"_

"What is it?"

_"You'll see!"_

Before Matt could ask anymore questions, Tai hung up. All he could hear now was a dial tone. All eyes in the room were on him now.

Matt blinked. "Uh…Tai wants us to go to the parking lot."

* * *

With the hours passing by quickly, Davis decided to go back to the hall with Kari. Kari was starting to feel a lot better about everything and she appeared to be more comfortable around Davis. So far, the goggle boy had done his job. Davis was heading over towards the hall, but Kari stopped about halfway.

"What is it, Kari?"

Kari waved towards the distance. "JERI!"

Davis looked over and saw that Jeri Katou was, in fact, walking along. She had just come out of the library and when she saw Kari waving her way, she ran over.

"How was work?" Kari asked cheerfully.

Jeri shrugged. "Being a receptionist isn't exactly what I'd call 'exciting work', but hey…it pays my way through college. So what are you two up to?"

"We're just heading back," Kari answered. "I hope Rika was able to keep things in order."

"Rika's more than capable of handling things on her own," Jeri pointed out. "But just to be sure, we'd better head back."

"You coming, Davis? Uh…Davis?"

Davis was looking over at the freshman hall. Matt, Sora, and Mimi were walking out. Right behind them came TK and Ken and behind then came Joe, who was carrying Gomamon. Behind Joe came Izzy, Takato, and Henry, with Terriermon on his shoulder. They were all heading towards the parking lot.

"Think we should see what the fuss is about?" Davis suggested.

Kari thought about it. "Uh…couldn't hurt…I guess. Let's go."

Davis, Kari, and Jeri all followed the others towards the parking lot. It was starting to get crowded over there and Davis was getting curious. So he walked over to Takato to see if he knew what was up.

"Takato? What's up?"

"I don't know," Takato said. "I'm in the dark on this one. Izzy dropped by to give me my Blue Card and Henry his Digivice and…to tell us some information that you might find very interesting."

"Is any of it the reason we're out here?"

"No."

"Then I'm not interested right now."

Takato sweatdropped as Davis walked over to someone who was likely to know what was going on. He walked over to Matt.

"Matt? What's going on?"

Matt shook his head. "I have no idea. Tai just said he wanted us out here, but I don't know why."

No one was sure why they were all waiting in the parking lot. The silence was almost eerie. But the uneasy silence was soon broken…with the revving of a loud engine. The noise caught everyone by surprise and they all looked around to see where it was coming from. It was Davis who saw it first.

"Hey, look!"

Everyone turned to their left to see a bright light coming from the distance. It was a pair of headlights coming from a vehicle, which was approaching the parking lot. As soon as it got closer, everyone saw what it was.

It was a motorcycle.

With quick speeds, the motorcycle drove up and was driving circles around everyone. Then it came to a halt and started revving loudly. Davis inched towards the bike. It was a 2000 Honda Rebel.

The driver turned off the ignition and stepped off. He was wearing a black leather jacket over a white tank top with a pair of blue jeans and black boots. He wore a helmet with shark teeth designed by the visor. He slowly removed the helmet and as he did…hair puffed up.

It was Tai.

Tai grinned. "So what do you guys think?"

Everyone's jaw was wide-open. They were all in shock at what they were seeing. Even Davis couldn't believe what he was seeing. Tai had actually gone out…and gotten a motorcycle. After a long, awkward silence, Kari finally stepped forward.

Tai smiled. "What do you think, Kari?"

"Tai, what is this?"

"It's my new motorcycle! Awesome, huh?"

Kari seemed to be in a state of disbelief. "Tai…I…I…"

"Just be honest. Tell me what you think."

Kari sighed. "Tai…you're my brother…and I love you very much. And it really hurts me to say this. But…………HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND?!?!"

"Calm down, Kari," Matt said coolly. "Let me handle this." Matt scooted Kari towards Davis and walked over to his best friend. "Tai…buddy……………HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND?!?!"

Tai sweatdropped. "What do you mean?"

That's when Sora stepped forward. "Matt, calm down. I think we should have a calm, cool third party handle this." That's when she turned to Tai. "Tai…what's THIS supposed to be?"

"Isn't it great?!" Tai grinned. "I just bought it a few hours ago! Gotta love the power of that 234cc engine!"

"You never cared about a 234cc engine before!" Sora pointed out. "What made you suddenly decide to get a motorcycle?"

"The urge to do something daring," Tai explained. "Come on, Sora. You know that lately I've been feeling a little…old. But I found the perfect way to feel young again. I just had to make a totally drastic change. And what could be more drastic than getting one of these babies? The feeling of the open road, the wind through my hair, and just the rush of riding down the street in my hog. There's no better way to feel young!"

Sora blinked. "I…don't know what to say. That sounds so…so…so…"

"Awesome?" Tai offered.

"Twisted," Sora countered. "You're doing this because you feel old?! Tai, I…I…I……" She looked back at everyone else. "A little help? What do I want to say here?"

"HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND?!?!" both Kari and Matt shouted.

"You don't like it?" Tai asked confusedly.

"NO!" Kari snapped. "Tai, this is crazy! A motorcycle's really dangerous! You could get hurt or worse! You could……you could……Davis, help me out here!"

Davis had only one question. "Hey Tai…can I ride it?"

Tai shook his head. "No."

"Then I'm with Kari on this one."

"I can't believe you, Tai!" Matt growled. "When are you going to get it through your thick skull that you aren't old?!"

"You know, you should be blaming your little brother, too. He's part of the reason I did this."

That got TK's attention. "Huh?! ME?!"

Tai smirked. "We'll see who Catherine likes better: You…or the guy with the motorcycle."

Kari put a hand on her forehead. "I can't believe it. He did it for that French girl. My head hurts. I'm going back in."

"I'm coming with you, Kari," Jeri said.

Kari walked back to the freshman hall with Jeri walking along right behind her. Izzy walked over to Tai and just shook his head.

"I think we should hold a memorial."

"You really think Tai will get himself killed on that contraption?" Tentomon asked.

"No, I think we should hold a memorial for Tai's sanity."

With that, Izzy walked away with Tentomon in his arms. Joe, carrying Gomamon, was next to walk up to Tai.

"Uh…I'll reserve judgment."

"Thanks, Joe."

"Uh huh. And if you break every bone in your body on that thing, you know who to call. If anything, this could be good practice for me."

Tai sweatdropped. "Thanks, Joe."

As soon as Joe left, Takato and Henry walked over to the motorcycle. They examined the bike closely, checking every part. Not knowing Tai as long as the DigiDestined have, these Tamers were a little more fascinated with Tai's choice in motorcycle.

"Looks like it's in good shape," Takato noted.

"I always wondered what it'd be like to take a ride on one of these things," Terriermon thought. "When are you getting one of these, Henry?"

Henry shook his head. "Not for a very long time, if ever."

Tai just shrugged and turned to the remaining DigiDestined present. "Doesn't ANYBODY have anything good to say?"

Always ready to compliment his idol, it was Davis who spoke up. "It's a really nice bike!"

Tai nodded. "Thank you, Davis. Anybody else?"

"No, the rest of us think you're an idiot," Matt replied casually.

Tai frowned and put his helmet back on. "Fine! You can think whatever you want, but I'm going for a ride." He walked towards his motorcycle and got on. He revved the engine loudly. "Be back later."

After a brief demonstration of the 234cc engine's power, Tai rode off into the sunset. Everyone could only watch in amazement. After a long and awkward silence, Davis decided to try and lighten the mood.

"Well…it IS a nice bike."

Everyone just shook their heads and walked away, except for TK and Takato.

"If he thinks that's going to win him Catherine, then he's got another thing coming," TK growled. "I may not know her as well as I'd like to, but I don't think she's that shallow that she'd pick Tai over me just because he has a motorcycle."

"And what do you drive?" Davis pointed out.

TK hung his head down. "My busted Toyota. Hey, it's still in good enough shape to make those pizza deliveries."

Davis looked in the sky and saw the sun going down. "I still have homework. We'd better go back."

"Wait a second, guys."

Davis and TK stopped in their tracks and turned to Takato, who had a serious look on his face.

"Izzy came by to talk to me and Henry earlier. There's something you should know…"

  


Next Week: We skip ahead two weeks to see where everybody's at. Is college life starting to take its toll on everybody? Is there anything between Tai and Catherine, or is she sticking with TK? But the story of the week won't be coming from there. It'll be coming from Kari and Rika. When Kari begins to have an angst session, Rika decides that she's had enough! It even gets to the point where Rika decides to come clean about her past with Ryo! Come see what happens on the next Digimon: The College Years!

  


Any comments? Then mail me at AmericanCaptor@hotmail.com and don't forget to review below!


	13. Yin and Yang

Last Week: Gennai finally showed up to provide some answers to Izzy, Joe, and Cody. He's hard at work to uncover the true evil that's fast becoming a major threat. He took Armadillomon to assist him in the Digital World while Izzy rushed over to Odaiba University to inform Takato and Henry while returning their things. All seemed to be well with Rika, until she got an unexpected phone call…FROM RYO! There was a rift between Tai and TK, who were both fighting over Catherine. And in an attempt to impress and feel younger at the same time, Tai got himself a motorcycle…much to the chagrin of his sister and best friend.

  


**Digimon: The College Years**

Episode 13- Yin and Yang

  


For the last several weeks, the Digital World has been buzzing about what's been going on. Digimon had been disappearing left and right and word was that the Black Gears had made an unwelcome return. And in the last week, more Digimon had disappeared. And rumor had it that a human was behind these abductions. However, no one had gotten close enough to see who was behind this without getting shanghaied.

This wasn't the type of news that Agumon liked to hear. He could tell that all wasn't well in the Digital World. There was a major difference with this particular plight. Agumon could feel that nobody sensed the urgency. The DigiDestined were all still in the real world, unaware of these dire events. And some of his friends were in the real world, too.

Biyomon and Palmon were staying with Sora and Mimi in their dorm room. They said something about helping the two girls with their fashion designs. Gomamon and Tentomon were getting attached to observing the college life, so they hardly ever came back. They liked staying with Joe and Izzy. Veemon, Wormmon, Patamon, and Gatomon were all with their partners, accompanying them for their freshman year.

The only one still around was Gabumon. In fact, Agumon and Gabumon were both walking through one of the forests of the Digital World. They had heard an unconfirmed rumor of that human at work once again.

"What did you hear, Agumon?" Gabumon asked.

"I heard it from a Gazimon," Agumon explained. "He saw a human brutally whipping a Digimon before tossing what he said was a Black Gear. Then the Digimon walked away with the human somewhere."

"What did the Digimon look like?"

"The Gazimon said that it looked huge and metallic. But what I'm concerned about is that a human really IS out here abducting Digimon. And if nobody else is going to stand up for the Digimon, then I'll do it."

"You know I won't let you do that by yourself," Gabumon pointed out. "That's why I'm coming with you, you know."

"I know. Thanks a lot, Gabumon. Having you at my side makes this a lot easier…"

Agumon suddenly stopped in his tracks. He held up a hand to motion Gabumon to stop. There was a rustling coming from the bushes around them. The two brave rookies then turned around to see that something was stirring within the bushes. Feeling ready for anything, Agumon got ready for a battle.

It turned out to be unnecessary. Because a familiar figure came out of the bushes. It was an old friend.

"Hello, Agumon, Gabumon. I'm glad I found you two."

Gabumon's eyes widened. "Gennai!"

It had been a long time, but indeed it was young Gennai coming out of the bushes. And he wasn't alone. Behind him were the only other two DigiDestined Digimon who weren't in the real world. Behind him were Hawkmon and Armadillomon.

"I've been looking all over for you two," Gennai smiled. "I brought Armadillomon from the real world and I found Hawkmon later on. Once I found them, I knew I only needed to recruit two more Digimon with hearts of gold. And those two are you."

"Recruit us?" Gabumon repeated. "Do you need help, Gennai?"

"I'm sure you've heard about what's been happening in the Digital World," Gennai explained. "I believe that the recent abductions are linked to a much greater evil. I've informed the DigiDestined and their allies about what I know so far, but until I'm 100 percent sure what we're up against, I don't want to drag them away from their studies. After all, college is a difficult task in itself. That's why I'll need your help."

"What do you want us to do?" Agumon asked.

"As a full-fledged team of four, I'll need you to wander around the Digital World digging up any information that you can about this recent threat, including the one using Black Gears to corrupt Digimon. In the meantime, I must meet up with the four Digimon Sovereigns, who are also concerned about this evil on the horizon. I believe they may have something that can help us all out."

"We don't have a problem doing some dirty work, Gennai," Armadillomon said. "But what if we meet up with this human or one of the Digimon under control of the Black Gears?"

"I believe I know what Armadillomon is about to say," Hawkmon added. "Should we find ourselves in a perilous situation, we wouldn't be able to Digivolve without our partners."

"I've taken that into account," Gennai answered. He took out a small blue box. "Agumon?"

Agumon stepped forward and took the blue box in his hand. "What's this?"

"In case you meet up with danger, open this box. This is a little gift from the Digimon Sovereigns. But ONLY use this in case of extreme emergency. This should only be used as a last resort."

The four Digimon all gathered around the box. There seemed to be a light shining from within. Agumon couldn't help but be a little curious, but he also recognized the seriousness in Gennai's tone. This was a last resort.

Gennai started heading out through the bushes. "Good luck, my friends. I'll stay in touch."

"But what do we do if we find something?" Hawkmon asked.

"I'll know where to find you," Gennai grinned. "Trust me, I always seem to be around when I'm really needed. Call it good timing. Good luck."

Gennai leaped through the bushes and was gone, leaving this ragtag foursome on their own. They stayed still momentarily, letting what happened sink in. Then they stared at the box, watching its inner glow. Finally, Agumon stepped forward.

"Where do we start looking, Agumon?" Gabumon asked.

Agumon sighed. "Anywhere but here."

* * *

Two weeks had passed and the third week of college was about to begin. Things already weren't going Kari's way. She had homework coming out of her ears and this week wouldn't prove to be any easier. And things never got easier, especially with the continuing drama that was her life.

One of the things that ailed her was making noise at that very second. Once again, she heard the revving of Tai's motorcycle outside by the parking lot. Even from the sanctuary of her dorm room, she could still hear the loud 234cc engine and so did her two roommates and so did the Digimon tenants.

Jeri looked out the window. "Well…it's been two weeks and Tai still has his motorcycle."

Renamon turned to Gatomon and smirked. "Told you so."

Gatomon shrugged. "It seemed like a sure bet. Ok, I owe you a Coke."

Kari groaned. "I thought Tai would have gotten rid of that thing by now! Every time he rides that thing, I feel like he'll split his head open on the sidewalk! Why does he still have it? Catherine doesn't like him any more with it than without it."

"It's a male thing," Jeri answered. "It probably makes him feel macho or something."

"I'm glad Davis isn't like that," Kari noted.

"Is that why I saw Davis sitting on the seat this morning?" Gatomon pointed out. "He was going 'VROOM, VROOM'!"

Kari shook her head again. "Ok, but at least he doesn't actually ride it. He has more sense than that."

That caught Gatomon off-guard. "Davis? Sense?"

Kari sweatdropped. "You know what I mean."

"So who IS Catherine going out with?" Jeri asked.

"Well…she's going back and forth between Tai and TK," Kari answered. "She's not leaning towards anybody. She's supposed to have lunch with TK later."

"I think TK told me about that," Jeri muttered. "It's sounding like he's really interested in her."

"I noticed that, too," Kari said sadly. "Every time he's around her, I see his eyes practically pop out. And every time she talks in that French accent of hers, it's like he's in a trance. I never had that effect on him. He never looked at me that way. I just can't believe it, Jeri. After all those years and all it took was one French girl for him to forget about me."

That got the attention of the third roomie. "All right, that's it!"

Rika took her eyes off her homework and got out of her chair. It looked like she was bothered by something. She angrily walked over towards Kari. Taking a hint, Jeri scooted over and away, leaving the other two roommates with their space.

Rika started off with a low chuckle. "You know, when we first moved in here, I knew there was something I didn't like about you. I couldn't put my finger on it, but there was something about you that just…irritated me. At first, it was your whole 'Ms. Nice Girl' attitude, always trying so hard to be my friend. Then it was your whole 'Miss Perfect' vibe that you just gave off. You looked like you could never be wrong, no matter what you did and that just frustrated me.

"But lately, I've been able to look past that. Of course, lately I've found a new reason not to like you."

"Um…why's that?" Kari asked timidly.

"Because you're a weak little crybaby and a poor, pathetic excuse for a woman!"

Kari was in shock. No one had ever called her that before and no one had ever been so harsh with her. Before she could even respond, Rika elaborated further.

"Every single day for the last two weeks, I hear you whine and cry about how TK's already dating. About how he's dating again so soon. And about how much he likes this new girl. About how he never looked at you that way. Every day, you just whine and wallow in your self-pity…despite the fact that you, yourself, are already going out with someone else! And I don't know if you've noticed or not, but you have a guy out there who really likes you!

"Any normal woman would see that and be happy for what she has! But not you! You have to spend all your time worrying about what TK does! TK this and TK that! STOP worrying about TK! I've never seen a girl so whipped over her EX-BOYFRIEND! Why don't you stand on your own two feet for once?! Suck it up and stop being so frail!"

Kari's eyes widened. "FRAIL?!"

"Yes, FRAIL! Emotionally frail! One thing goes wrong and you go off the deep end. Need I remind you of how you reacted when you first heard about TK and Catherine?"

Kari wanted to protest right away. But she stopped herself and decided to look at this through Rika's point of view. She thought about how she did react when hearing about TK's first date with Catherine. She remembered going off the deep end and immediately going out to yell at TK. She even remembered kissing Davis in front of him out of spite. Rika made a good point. Kari realized that she was being emotionally frail.

Kari hung her head down. "You're right. I have been emotionally frail lately. I just…haven't been faced with anything like this before. I don't know how to handle it."

Rika nodded knowingly. "I'll tell you what. Let's go out and have lunch off campus. And while we're there, we can talk about how you can handle this."

"How would you know how to handle this?" Kari asked curiously.

Jeri gasped. "Rika…are you…?"

Rika held her hand out. "Don't…even say it. I'll cross that bridge when I come to it." She paused briefly. "Come with us, Jeri. You're good at this sort of thing, too."

"Well…I AM pretty hungry…"

Before Jeri could agree to tag along, her pager started to go off. She rolled her eyes and reached over to get it. And once she saw it, she groaned.

"Great…bad timing strikes again. I can't make it."

"Then we'll go without you. Come on, Kari. Let's go."

"Wait a minute! Who'll watch Renamon and Gatomon?"

Rika answered Kari's question by shifting her gaze towards Impmon and Calumon. They both had their eyes on the TV screen, but they both noticed they were being watched. They turned around and returned Rika's gaze.

"What?" Impmon asked obliviously.

* * *

One advantage of being a computer science student was that Izzy had access to the computer lab in the basement of Engineering building, which was reserved for students pursuing such majors. Izzy had a lot to catch up on, especially regarding some of the things he had seen recently.

Over the last two weeks, Izzy had been introduced to the Digimon Tamers and was revisited by old ally and friend, Gennai. But things just wouldn't end there for Izzy. He had to continue a major project for his class and still balance that with occasionally researching the Digital World.

It wasn't easy to balance that, since he had an appointment in about ten minutes. He had to rush over to the freshman dorms since Takato had agreed to let him study Guilmon. Izzy was more than curious about that Digimon since Takato says he made him out of a drawing.

It was time to go. So Izzy grabbed his bag and put it over his shoulder. Then he picked up Tentomon and started to walk out in a rush. But in his haste, he crashed into someone, dropping Tentomon and spilling some things out of his bag.

Izzy scrambled to pick his supplies up. "Oh, I'm really sorry. Are you ok?"

"I'm fine, Izzy. Very interesting little gadget you have here."

Izzy looked up and saw he had bumped into Professor Onodera. And she had picked up Izzy's Digivice from the ground and had her eye on it. It was almost as if she recognized it.

Professor Onodera slowly handed Izzy his Digivice. Once she did, she pointed at Tentomon.

"Stuffed animal?"

Izzy sweatdropped. "Oh…you bet! He's…more of a good luck charm. I hardly go anywhere without it."

Professor Onodera raised an eyebrow. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow, Izzy. How are those freshman programs looking?"

"Looking good. Nothing lower than a C, so far. I'd better get going. I'll see you later, Professor."

Izzy picked up his bag and Tentomon and started heading out. He wasn't usually that clumsy and that run-in just led him to believe that he was having a bad day.

Maybe things would pick up once he got to Takato's room.

* * *

Talley Onodera kept her eye on Izzy as he walked out. To say this was an unexpected discovery would be an understatement. But on this day, Talley had found something very interesting about her Teacher's Aide.

That device looked very familiar to her and she recognized it almost immediately. While it looked different than the ones the Tamers used, she couldn't deny that what she saw was a Digivice. How he got one of those, Talley had no idea. But she had a vague idea.

The gender of the mole had yet to be specified to any of them. It was very possible that the mole in question was Izzy.

Knowing what she had to do, Talley reached for her cell phone and punched her speed dial.

"Sir? It's Talley. I think we have our first breakthrough…"

* * *

There was no better way to talk about personal problems than over a latte and a croissant. At least that was how Kari felt. And apparently, Rika felt the same way, because both girls ventured down to the coffee shop together. After getting her latte and croissant, Rika and Kari sat by the window. Things went silent. Kari didn't know where to even begin.

So the outspoken Rika kicked things off. "Why do you do it, Kari? Why do you keep hanging on to something that isn't there? Why can't you just let TK go?"

Kari sighed and took a sip of her latte. "We've just been through so much in our lives. And everything we've gone through, we've been through it together. It's been that way since we were eight years old and going through the Digital World for the first time." She let out a smile. "He was looking out for me, even back then. I remember when we were running from Piedmon. I was so scared, but TK was really brave and just wouldn't quit."

Rika thought about that. "Piedmon? Mega Digimon with a bad taste for storytelling."

"You've heard of him?"

"I've heard of just about every Digimon there is. Back in West Shinjuku, I used to be known as the Digimon Queen."

Kari giggled. "I've been called a queen before." Then she shuddered as she thought of when that happened. "On second thought, I'd rather not talk about it."

"So I guess you and TK were really close."

"About as close as a couple could ever get. You know, it's sad. TK was my first boyfriend and really the only boy I ever let get that close to me. Sure, I've always had guys like Davis, Matt, Cody, Izzy, and Joe around. But TK was the only one I considered as anything more than a friend. I was even thinking of…going even further with him one day."

"Ok, there's one thing I have to know," Rika said. "What attracted you…to Davis?"

That proved to be a surprisingly easy answer for Kari. "Out of everybody I've known in my life, Davis has the biggest heart. Sure, he can occasionally be obnoxious, cocky, clumsy, or whatever else. But I never questioned his heart. And he's the best friend anybody could ever have.

"He's got a certain innocence that you just can't help but love. He tries so hard and even if he doesn't always succeed, which he rarely does, he never lets it get him down. I've never met anyone with such spirit. And you want to talk about courage? You need look no further than Davis.

"I remember seven years ago when we faced off with an evil Digimon called MaloMyotismon. He had completely obliterated two ultimate-level Digimon effortlessly and looked to be completely invincible. I had never been so scared in my life and I'd never seen TK that afraid, either. Ken, Yolei, and Cody were all scared to death. But Davis never flinched for a second. He knew he didn't stand a chance. We all knew he didn't stand a chance. But he didn't care. He chose to stand up to MaloMyotismon, because he knew somebody had to stop him from taking over both worlds. He was never afraid."

Rika shook her head. "That's what baffles me, Kari. He sounds like a great catch. Why keep dwelling on your past? Why dwell on TK?"

"Getting over the breakup's a lot harder than I thought," Kari answered sadly.

Rika closed her eyes and hung her head down. "I can't believe I'm about to say this. Kari…I know how you feel."

That caught Kari by surprise. "You do?"

Rika scowled. "I'm going to share something with you, Kari. Now I'm only doing it to make a point. But after today, we never mention it again, GOT IT?!"

"Got it. What is it?"

Rika closed her eyes again. "A year ago…someone I knew…a friend…a guy…moved away. His name was Ryo Akiyama."

Kari thought about that. "Ryo Akiyama…Ryo Akiyama…why does that name sound familiar?"

"Can I finish?"

"Sorry."

"I knew Ryo for a long time. We met when I went into the Digital World for the first time. You should have seen Kazu and Kenta. They looked like total fanboys, like they had just met their hero. They even called him a legend. And…ok…maybe I'll admit…he was pretty good. I still don't think he's better than me, though.

"I can't explain why I fell for him. There was something different about him that I didn't see in Takato or Henry or any of them. People might say it was because he saved my life a couple of times. But I think it was because Ryo was…a warrior…like me."

"Did you ever tell him how you felt?" Kari asked.

"Oh please! If there's one thing I'm not and one thing I never will be, it's a romantic! I couldn't just come out and tell him. But that didn't mean I wasn't leaving out subtle hints. I shared my cards with him, bought him lunch, helped him out whenever I could. And I never went anywhere without asking him to come with me. That should have been enough."

"So what happened?"

For the first time since Kari had met her, Rika's tough-girl façade was breaking down. "Last year, he told me he was moving to Hong Kong. His parents moved away and they dragged him along, too. I thought that would be the moment where we'd put aside all the games and tell each other how we felt. But it didn't work out that way, because one day…Ryo just left without saying goodbye.

"I had to find out from Takato and Henry. When they told me that Ryo left, well…you could imagine how that made me feel. That night, I got a call from Ryo in Hong Kong. He thought everything was just great between us and what really got to me was that he was just going on like he didn't realize what he had done. He just talked like he did nothing wrong. Feeling frustrated, I just hung up."

Kari was left almost speechless. "Rika…I had no idea."

"NOW do you see why I never wanted to talk about it?"

To Kari, it all started to make sense. That was the reason why Rika would get so bent out of shape every time someone vaguely hinted at even mentioning his name. It brought back too many bad memories for her.

Rika scoffed. "I don't know what I ever saw in him in the first place. Just because he was always so good and so handsome. It was always like he could do no wrong and he always succeeded at whatever he did. A total Mr. Perfect! I can't tell you how much I HATE…"

Rika stopped in her tracks and started glaring at Kari. Not picking up any of the subtle ironies, Kari just had a blank look on her face.

"Rika? What is it? Why are you looking at me like that?"

Rika didn't lose that cold stare. "Uh…no reason. Kari, do you even see the point I'm trying to make?"

"Um……………………no."

"Ok, here's the point I want to make," Rika began. "Despite what happened with me and Ryo…did I ever cry about it?"

Kari hesitated. "No."

"Did I ever wallow in self-pity?"

"No."

"Despite knowing that Ryo may have very well found someone else out in Hong Kong, did I ever let it bring me down?"

Kari saw where this was going. "No."

"That's right, I didn't. Because despite my personal feelings, I know that I need to be strong and so should you. You have a lot to learn about being a strong woman. You lack a certain self-reliance. And I can help you find that."

"You can?"

"Absolutely. Stick with me, Kari. And before you know it, you'll be an independent woman who can stand on her own two feet."

And there was the offer. Rika was offering to share what she knew with Kari. On one hand, it was the closest Kari had ever gotten to her roommate since moving in. Maybe this would be a good experience. There was a certain something that she respected about Rika. Perhaps it was the whole independent woman vibe she gave off. It reminded her of Yolei in a lot of ways.

And on the other end of the spectrum, maybe Kari would be a good influence on Rika. She was thinking that some of her better qualities might rub off on her.

It didn't take long for Kari to agree. "I'd like that."

* * *

It was such a beautiful day outside and Guilmon could only look out the window. He wished he could be out there, but he knew he couldn't go outside. Not with so many of the students walking around.

In the meantime, Terriermon was busy entertaining the guests. The DigiDestined guys brought their Digimon so they could keep each other company. And Veemon, Patamon, and Wormmon were more than happy to be there. The four of them were playing poker and Terriermon was wearing a dealer's hat. In the middle of the four was a huge stack of red, white, and blue poker chips.

Terriermon laid down his hand. "Flush. All spades."

Veemon sighed. "I'm out."

Patamon shook his head. "Me too."

Wormmon hesitated. "Oh darn, I was so close."

"What'd you have, Wormmon?" Veemon asked.

Wormmon laid down his cards. "All I had were two pairs of Jacks."

Terriermon sweatdropped. He groaned and pushed the pile of poker chips forward. "Figures. I never COULD win at poker."

"I can't even win at Go Fish," Veemon grinned.

Guilmon sighed as he looked out the window. Finally, he made a decision. "I'll be right back, Terriermon."

"Hey, where do you think you're going?" Terriermon demanded.

"I need some air," Guilmon answered.

"But Takato told you not to go anywhere! You could be signing your ticket back to West Shinjuku if you get caught!"

"I'll only be a few minutes. Maybe you can win back what you lost by the time I get back."

Terriermon smirked and adjusted his dealer's hat. "Ok, guys. One more time."

Guilmon climbed out the window. He headed out into the bushes to get a bird's-eye view of college life.

* * *

A couple of weeks had passed and things had gotten way too quiet for The Digimon Empress. But standing atop her usual post on the roof of one of Odaiba's buildings, she knew that it was time for things to get interesting again. Puppetmon had chosen this Digimon himself, even after The Digimon Empress went to all the trouble to search for others herself. But she didn't mind too much. After all, this was a very good choice.

Finally, she got the call on her communicator. It was time to bring him out. So she opened the Digital Field and out came the big man-bull, Minotarumon. He was big and red, muscles covering his body and wild hair over his head that had two long horns. The hair wasn't just there for decoration. It also covered the Black Gear. But the eye-opener was the big blaster on his arm. This was a dangerous Digimon…making him the perfect choice.

The Digimon Empress pointed down. "No failures! Either destroy or don't come back!"

Minotarumon jumped off the building and landed on his feet. With a loud roar, he started storming down the street.

* * *

Before she could even finish her croissant, Kari heard screaming. She peered outside to see that people were running from something. And it didn't take her long to see what it was.

"Rika, do you see what I see?"

Rika calmly stepped outside and saw what Kari was seeing. It was a huge Digimon and he looked to be very ill-tempered. Rika wasn't fazed at all. She just pointed her Digivice.

"Minotarumon, ultimate level. As mean as he is ugly, he pounds his opponents with his Bull Fighting Attack and Darkside Quake."

It didn't take long for Rika to reach for a cell phone. And Kari had a feeling she knew who she was about to call.

* * *

Renamon just shook her head again. She liked playing with Calumon and all, but she was starting to look bad at this point. It was getting to be pathetic.

"I can't believe it! I've beaten Ice Devimon, I've mashed Musyamon, and I've vanquished Vajiramon! I can't believe…"

She slammed down…five playing cards.

"…I can't beat a full house."

Gatomon scooped up all the chips. "And that's all your chips. Looks like I win!"

"Cheater!" Renamon pouted. "There's no way you could have had four aces in that last hand!"

"I'm a lucky kitty. I'm not a BLACK cat, you know."

Impmon turned to Calumon. "I'll bet you that Twinkie and three Ding Dongs that this leads to a fight."

Calumon nodded. "Ok!"

Before this argument could go any further, the phone rang. Everyone stood still. They knew that it wouldn't be a good idea for a Digimon to pick up the phone, but then again…it could have been an emergency. Finally, Renamon decided to just suck it up and answer.

"Yes?"

_"Renamon? Where's Jeri?!"_

"Jeri had to step out for a while. She didn't say where she was going. Rika, is something wrong?"

_"Get down here, now! There's a Minatarumon on the loose! I need you here by the coffee shop!"_

"I'll be right down!"

Renamon quickly hung up and headed for the window. But before she could get any further, someone tugged on her arm and stopped her. She groaned when she felt that pair of gloved hands grab her arm. She turned her head to see Gatomon.

"And where do you think YOU'RE going?" Gatomon demanded.

"A Minotarumon is on the loose. Rika needs my help. Let go of me, cat!"

"Ok, let's go!"

"NO! I'm going alone! Rika asked for ME, not you! Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to the coffee shop."

Gatomon smirked. "Do you even KNOW where Odaiba's coffee shop is?"

Renamon sweatdropped. "Uh…no…"

"Then you need me to show you where it is. Let's go!"

Renamon sighed, knowing she was defeated. "Fine! Let's go! But you'd better not get in the way! You let ME take care of everything!"

Gatomon rolled her eyes as she jumped out the window first. Renamon was about to follow, but before she did, she turned around.

"You two stay here."

After issuing that little instruction, the yellow fox jumped out the second-story window and landed behind the bushes, managing to keep from being seen. Carefully heading off campus, Renamon and Gatomon headed out into the city.

* * *

Guilmon liked getting this whiff of fresh air. He didn't want to go back into the confining dorm room, but he knew he would have to before Takato came back. But just as he was about to go back, he looked over and saw something behind the bushes in the distance.

It was Renamon and Gatomon. They looked like they were leaving. That made Guilmon more than curious. It was probably an emergency. Needing to know what was going on, the big red lizard stepped out of the bushes. But just as he stepped out, he accidentally bumped into two students. Guilmon gasped when he saw who he ran into.

They were two young ladies in sweaters and a skirt. It was a uniform. Guilmon realized that he ran into two cheerleaders. Much to his surprise, however, the girls didn't scream upon seeing him. Instead, they looked relieved. They took his hand and started leading him away.

"It's about time we found you!"

"Yeah, everybody's waiting for you!"

Guilmon blinked. "Huh? Waiting for me?"

"Yeah, that's right!"

"Let's go! We're already late!"

Guilmon had no idea what to make of any of this. But he just shrugged and decided to go with the flow. He just wondered where he was being taken.

* * *

Kari felt so helpless being forced to watch Minatarumon wreak havoc, knowing there was nothing she could do. She wished there was something she could do. But her wish soon came true, because help had arrived.

"Rika, look!"

Coming in at a blinding speed, Renamon leapt into the air and attacked Minatarumon. "Diamond Storm!"

Renamon attacked immediately, but the attack only served to get the big bull's attention. He turned around and swatted her away like a bug. Renamon slid down the pavement until she was at Gatomon's feet.

"Nice one, Foxy."

"Oh, shut up!"

Minotarumon continued on his mean streak, but now he had opposition. Kari watched as Rika stepped forward with her Digivice.

"The city won't last at this rate. I think we'd better move a step ahead quickly."

Rika took out one of her cards. Kari remembered seeing Takato fight this way, too. Rika swiped the card through her Digivice.

"DigiModify! Digivolution activate!"

**Digivolution**

**Renamon…Digivolve to…Kyubimon!**

Renamon had Digivolved into a bigger four-legged fox, with a bigger coat and nine tails. She looked ready to face off with Minatarumon, but before she did, she walked up to Gatomon.

"What do you think of me now, kitty?"

Gatomon shrugged. "Eh, I've seen better."

"Is that so? Well, watch and see what I can do!"

Kyubimon turned and made a beeline for Minatarumon. She leaped into the air again and got ready for another direct attack.

"Dragon Wheel!"

Surrounded with blue fire, Kyubimon rushed the big bull, but bounced off harmlessly. Gatomon walked up to the fallen fox and shook her head.

"Is that it?"

"No, that's not it!" Kyubimon growled. "It's not like you could do any better!"

"Maybe I can't, but at least I'm smart enough not to attack him directly. Watch and learn."

Gatomon walked over to one of the coffee shop's tables and pulled off the red tablecloth. She ran over in front of Minatarumon and started waving the tablecloth, matador-style.

"Toro! Toro! Come and get me!"

Being mocked in such a stereotypical fashion was enough to infuriate Minatarumon. He stopped what he was doing and started rushing Gatomon. Just before contact was made, Gatomon jumped straight into the air and draped the table cloth on the ultimate-level Digimon's head.

Gatomon waved to her partner. "I got him, Kari!"

Unfortunately, Minatarumon wasn't just some dumb bull. He pulled the tablecloth off his head and approached Gatomon while she was still waving at Kari. The bull then gave Gatomon a stiff kick and sent her flying until she landed right by Kyubimon.

"Oh, you really showed me," Kyubimon muttered sarcastically.

"That's not all I have up my sleeve," Gatomon shot back. She looked over at Kari. "Kari, time to Digivolve!"

Kari held her Digivice up. "You got it!"

****Gatomon…Digivolve to…Angewomon!****

Having Digivolved to ultimate-level, the playing field looked to be even. Angewomon took to the sky and flew in front of Minatarumon. There was a standoff.

Kyubimon tried to get up and get back in the fight. That's when she was approached by a few friends.

"Go get him, Kyubimon!"

Kyubimon blinked. She turned around to see…Calumon and Impmon.

"What are you two doing here? I told you to stay in the dorm!"

"And miss the excitement?" Impmon smirked. He lit a fireball on his fingertip. "You want me to make a steak out of this cow?"

"That won't be necessary," Kyubimon grumbled. "I'll admit the kitty LOOKS impressive, but looks aren't everything! I'm still stronger!"

Rika pointed her Digivice. "Angewomon, ultimate level. An angel Digimon who conquers evil with her Celestial Arrow and Heaven's Charm." She chuckled and pulled out another card. "She's quite a sight, Kari. But now I'll show you a REAL ultimate-level Digimon. Kyubimon, you ready?"

Kyubimon got up. "I thought you'd never ask."

Rika swiped her card. "DigiModify! Matrix Digivolution activate!"

**Matrix Digivolution**

**Kyubimon…Digivolve to…Taomon!**

Kari gasped as she saw the four-legged Kyubimon Digivolve into the human-shaped Taomon. She couldn't help but feel good about this. After initially getting off to a rocky start with her roommate, here she was fighting by her side. And so were their Digimon, even after ill feelings they had towards each other.

Minotarumon found himself surrounded. So he focused on a nearby building.

"Darkside Quake!"

The building shook and started falling apart as Minatarumon shook it with his metallic hand. The big bull caught the pieces of debris and started tossing them at the two Digimon. Angewomon managed to dodge each shot and still aim her bow.

"Celestial Arrow!"

Angewomon shot her Celestial Arrow and hit Minatarumon between the eyes. The big bull was blinded and staggering around.

"Kari, now's our chance! Let's get him back to the Digital World!"

Kari ran out into the street knowing what she had to do. She needed to find another Internet café to open a Digiport. But she didn't see one anywhere. Of course…she wouldn't have the chance, either.

Because Rika had other ideas. "Taomon, finish him off!"

Taomon aimed a giant paintbrush. "Talisman of Light!"

Taomon shot a giant symbol of light at Minatarumon. After a direct hit, Minatarumon was deleted. Kari could only gasp in horror. She couldn't believe what she just saw.

Rika was taking it all indifferently. "Good job, Taomon. He won't be bothering us anymore."

Kari stood frozen for a moment. Words escaped her. Finally, after everything sank in, she stormed towards Rika. She firmly grabbed her shoulder and turned her around.

"Y-Y-You…KILLED him!"

"And what's your point?" Rika asked with a stone-cold look.

"You didn't have to do that!"

"Excuse me? Maybe you didn't notice, but he was demolishing the city!"

"We could have sent him back!" Kari cried angrily. "You didn't have to kill him!"

"I don't think he was about to go quietly!" Rika shot back. "There was no time to send him back! He was on a rampage and putting innocent people in danger! This is a fight, Kari! And if innocent people are in danger, then there have to be sacrifices!"

"You're wrong!" Kari spat. "There's always time to do things the right way! I could have found a computer! I could have opened a Digiport!"

"And by the time that happened, half of Odaiba would be in shambles! Where's your head at?! He clearly made a choice and had to face the consequences of his decision! How could you even THINK about putting people in danger just to protect one bad Digimon?! What's the matter with you?!"

"How DARE you turn this around on me! You're the one who just killed a Digimon without any remorse! Don't you even care that a Digimon's death is on your head?!"

"NO! And you want to know why? Because if I hadn't acted, then there would likely would have been deaths of others that would be on my head…and YOURS! I'll let you think about that, Kari! Come on, Taomon! Let's go!"

Rika was about to walk off, but Taomon was a little busy. She was in the midst of an intense staredown with Angewomon. Both Digimon glared holes into one another.

"You never DID have any compassion," Angewomon muttered.

"I do what I must," Taomon shot back. "Do you have a problem with that?"

"Maybe I do!"

Angewomon and Taomon started moving towards each other. Before they could get in each other's faces, Calumon stepped in between them.

"Hey! Cut it out! Impmon, help me!"

Impmon just waved his hand nonchalantly. "Uh…I don't know about this one, Calumon. I always did enjoy a good catfight. Maybe we should let them go."

"Taomon!" Rika snapped. "Let's go! We have no reason to fight these two. They'll just have to learn that this is how things need to be done."

Taomon turned around and started walking away, but not before looking back at Angewomon. "I'm still stronger."

Rika and Taomon walked away. Calumon looked back and forth and looked torn. But after a brief hesitation, he followed Rika and Taomon. Impmon casually followed along, but stopped just as he passed Angewomon.

He scoffed. "Angels."

Impmon casually followed his friends out and Kari found herself along with Angewomon.

Kari hung her head down. "Are we really wrong on this one?"

"No!" Angewomon answered without hesitation. "We did the right thing in taking the nonviolent approach. If anything, it's THEM who have a lot to learn."

Having said that, Angewomon reverted back to her champion level. Kari and Gatomon walked away down the street as the sun was starting to set. It had been a long day.

* * *

Guilmon was feeling out of place. He wasn't ever supposed to leave his dorm room. Yet here he was…inside Odaiba University's gymnasium, surrounded a dozen or so cheerleaders. And he didn't even know what he was doing there.

After what felt like an eternity, another one of the cheerleaders came in, dragging in an adult by the arm.

"We found him, Coach! Here's the new mascot for the Odaiba Dragons!"

Guilmon looked around. He was eager to see who the new mascot was. But his curiosity would have to wait, because the cheerleader and coach were walking up to him.

The coach pinched one of Guilmon's cheeks. "This one? He's kinda short, isn't he?"

"But look at how much trouble he went to," the cheerleader pointed out. "He went as far as to make his own costume. And it looks so real!"

That's when Guilmon realized that they were talking about him. The coach examined Guilmon and nodded.

"There's just one more test," he said. "Hold still, guy."

The coach reached into a nearby box and took out a white Odaiba Dragons sweater. He put it on Guilmon. It was little oversized, but it looked to be a good fit nonetheless.

"Perfect! You've got the look! Congratulations…uh…what's your name?"

Guilmon hesitated. "My name? Uh…I guess you can call me Guil…"

"Yes! Congratulations, Gil! You're the new official mascot of the Odaiba Dragons!"

Guilmon blinked. "I am?"

The coach chuckled. "I know, it's an honor. But we'll be looking forward to seeing you for the season opener. You'll be here before then, right?"

For lack of anything better to say, Guilmon just nodded. "When's that?"

"This Friday. Good to have you aboard, Gil!"

The coach shook Guilmon's hand. Guilmon didn't know exactly how to take this. But oddly enough…he felt happy about being the school's new mascot.

This was the kind of college life he could live with.

  


Next Week: We reach Odaiba's University's soccer season opener…with Guilmon as the team's new mascot. What'll happen when Takato finds out? Catherine can't wait to attend the game, either, but…who's she going with? Tai or TK? Meanwhile, Kari and Rika are still at each other's throats. Will it show as they get to the game? And what Black Gear influenced Digimon is looking to crash the party? It…isn't who you might think. @_@ But as if Rika didn't have enough to think about…a huge shocker's about to shake up her world. What is it? Find out on the next Digimon: The College Years!

  


Any comments? Then mail me at AmericanCaptor@hotmail.com and don't forget to review below!


	14. Season Opener

Last Week: We saw some bonding between Kari and Rika. Rika talked to Kari about being too emotionally frail and later confided in her and told her about her past with Ryo, all to make the point that failed relationships shouldn't bring her down. But further bonding was interrupted when Minatarumon infiltrated the real world and attacked the city. Renamon and Gatomon arrived and tried to individually attack the big bull, but got nowhere. It wasn't until they both reached their ultimate-level that they were able to stand a chance. But Taomon went on to wipe out Minatarumon and delete him. That led to a huge argument between Kari and Rika, which led to both leaving separately. Meanwhile, Gennai has recruited Agumon, Gabumon, Hawkmon, and Armadillomon to help him find the source of disappearing Digimon in the Digital World and left them with a mysterious box containing a gift from the Digimon Sovereigns that should only be used as a last resort. As for Guilmon, he was feeling confined indoors, so he went out the window, but was spotted by some cheerleaders. He was led into the gymnasium…where he was made into Odaiba University's newest mascot! @_@

  


**Digimon: The College Years**

Episode 14- Season Opener

  


After the disaster with the Minatarumon, Puppetmon wasn't feeling in a playful mood on this particular Friday. It marked another failure and there was nothing he hated more than being made to look like a joke. The moods of Datamon and The Digimon Empress seemed to reflect those of Puppetmon. They didn't look very happy either.

"It appears we've made some miscalculations," Datamon muttered. "I first deduced that catching the DigiDestined and Tamers by surprise would give us the advantage, but I did not factor the incompetence of some of our servants."

"There's nothing I'd like better than someone who can do the job right!" The Digimon Empress growled. "Especially since the season opener is tonight at the university!"

"Is that right?" Puppetmon smirked. "I bet we could have a lot of fun if we get one of our guys in there!"

Datamon examined the line of Digimon under the influence of Black Gears. "Yes, but I see no worthy Digimon here. None of them deserve the opportunity."

"Did I hear someone say 'opportunity'?" someone else called out.

The three villains looked around to see who spoke up. It didn't take long for someone to come out. Puppetmon immediately sensed something familiar about this one. His body was a star and he walked on two legs. It looked like Starmon, but there was something different about him. His star body was gold and he wore fancy shades…and there was a Black Gear on his back.

"Who are you to speak out of turn?" Datamon demanded.

"The name's SuperStarmon," the Digimon announced. "And I am the solution to all your problems."

The Digimon Empress scoffed. "You? Listen…"

"Yes, yes, I know you're impressed. My star power has you in awe. But I'm sorry, little lady. I don't do autographs."

The Digimon Empress blinked. "Huh? I didn't ask for…"

"I know you're disappointed," SuperStarmon interrupted. "But frankly, a star of my caliber doesn't have time to associate himself with meager tasks like autographs or mingling with my adoring public."

The Digimon Empress looked like she didn't know what to make of this at all. For that matter, Puppetmon didn't even know what to make of it. He got up and approached this egomaniac.

"Look here, buddy, all we want is someone to take out the DigiDestined and the Tamers. Do you think you honestly have what it takes?"

"Of course I do! For I am…SuperStarmon, the biggest superstar the Digital World has ever seen! No pictures and please hold your applause."

"I don't like your tone!" Puppetmon growled. "Puppet Pummel!"

Puppetmon decided to do away with this nuisance immediately by attacking with his Puppet Pummel. SuperStarmon was knocked back and slid into the wall. To everyone's shock and amazement, the big star just calmly got to his feet.

"Remarkable!" Datamon exclaimed. "Lesser Digimon have been annihilated by Puppetmon's tantrums."

"I may be a mere ultimate-level Digimon," SuperStarmon explained. "But my defense is topnotch. It'll take a lot more than a squeaky hammer to knock this star off his pedestal."

"Squeaky hammer?!" Puppetmon shouted. "I'll show YOU!"

Before Puppetmon could pound this ego into oblivion, The Digimon Empress stepped in between the two. Puppetmon got the urge to smash her, too, but let cooler heads prevail. She may have just been a human, but she was still an important part of the mission. After all, no one else had access to the university other than her.

"Maybe you can take it, but can you dish it out?" The Digimon Empress asked SuperStarmon.

"Why, of course I can! My Halley Squall and Galactic Eyes attacks can put an end to anyone's 15 minutes of fame!"

"Then maybe you'll do, after all."

"You've got to be kidding me!" Puppetmon protested. "Him?!"

Puppetmon was about to make his feelings known, but Datamon dragged him off to the corner by his wooden ear. Soon, they were off in the corner, ready to have a private conversation.

"You can't be serious about sending him! He's a total moron with an ego the size of my old playhouse!"

"I agree that he has a big ego, but I can see what our little Digimon Empress has up her sleeve. After what she told me about the Minatarumon, it appears that the Tamers won't hesitate to kill if necessary. So she's probably thinking that either the DigiDestined and Tamers get destroyed OR they destroy SuperStarmon and get him off our backs. Either way, it's a victory for us."

"Hey, she's smarter than she looks!"

"Indeed, she is. Now let's go send the sap to the real world. With any luck, they'll all destroy each other."

Puppetmon walked back with Datamon to make the necessary arrangements. Of course, SuperStarmon was under the influence of a Black Gear, so how much arranging could possibly be necessary?

"We're in agreement," Datamon said. "You're our mon. So you'd better…"

"Now, just hold on there," SuperStarmon interrupted. "A star of MY caliber can't just be hired like some two-bit actor. You have to meet some of my demands first."

"DEMANDS?!" Puppetmon repeated. "We're the top bad guys here! We're the ones who make demands!"

SuperStarmon just ignored Puppetmon. "As I was saying, I'll have to issue some standard demands. First, I'll need a bowl of peanuts in my trailer; roasted AND salted! I also want seedless watermelons! I'll need a private bathroom AND a private dressing room…"

"But you don't wear clothes!" Datamon snapped.

SuperStarmon just kept going. "And finally, I'll need a starting salary of 100,000 Digi-dollars!"

Puppetmon's eyes widened. "100,000 Digi-dollars?! You five-cornered hack! That's the last straw!"

Puppetmon reached over for his hammer again, feeling in a foul mood once more. But Datamon quickly stopped him while The Digimon Empress giggled nervously.

"Don't mind him! He got up on the wrong side of the woodshed this morning. We'll give you whatever you want AFTER you disrupt the season opener and crush our enemies."

"Thank you," SuperStarmon grinned. "I'm glad we got that settled before bringing my agent into this. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be in my trailer."

With that, SuperStarmon walked off…leaving the three villains in a perplexed state of mind.

"We…don't HAVE a trailer," The Digimon Empress pointed out.

"We have an outhouse," Puppetmon suggested. "You think he's using that?"

"Stars can be so irascible," Datamon quipped. "They make it to the big time and they suddenly get a big head."

The Digimon Empress just held her head. "I…should go back to the university and get ready to receive from out there…before I get a headache. Call me when it's time to bring in our star."

As odd as this whole exchange was, there was one bottom line. SuperStarmon would soon be ready to crash Odaiba University's season opener and wipe out the DigiDestined and Tamers.

Of course, Puppetmon wondered if this whole ordeal would give SuperStarmon an even BIGGER ego once it was all over.

* * *

Takato looked in front of the mirror, trying on his new red Odaiba University sweater. He had to admit that he looked pretty good in the colors of the school and so did Henry. And they would sport those colors at tonight's season opener.

"You guys will be ok in here for the night, right?" Henry asked.

Terriermon didn't look too happy about that. Guilmon was just looking out the window. Takato looked at him and almost detected a bead of sweat.

"Come on, Henry!" Terriermon protested. "I'm small enough to not get noticed! Let me come with you. I've haven't seen a soccer game in a long time."

"I don't know, Terriermon," Henry persisted. "I'd look pretty weird carrying a stuffed animal to a soccer game."

"Ok, then I have another idea!"

Not willing to give up or take no for an answer, Terriermon walked over to Henry's closet and pulled out his cooler. He opened the large cooler and jumped inside. Henry was in disbelief and just looked at Takato.

"Uh…you got to admit, he's creative," Takato chimed in.

"What do you think?" Terriermon asked.

Henry still wasn't sure. "I don't know. You're not really willing to leave Guilmon here by himself, are you?"

Terriermon smirked. "Oh, I have a feeling Guilmon will be just fine. Isn't that right, big guy?"

Guilmon, who had been looking out the window, suddenly turned around. "Uh…um…yeah! Fine! Don't worry about me."

"Are you sure, boy?" Takato asked with a hint of uncertainty.

"Yeah. You three just go to the game. I'll be ok."

"See? He'll be just fine!" Terriermon grinned. Then he got in the cooler and put the lid in over his head. Of course, just because he was inside the cooler didn't mean he couldn't keep his mouth going. "Maybe you'll find a cute cheerleader, Henry. Remember, you're…"

"I know," Henry groaned. "Shinjuku High's Most Eligible Bachelor."

Takato just chuckled as he remembered Henry's high school yearbook honor. As Henry picked up his cooler, Takato walked over to walk out the door. But…

****THUD****

"OW!!"

Once again, Takato's door flew open and smashed him on the nose. As he rubbed his nose, he heard that familiar voice. It could only be one person.

"Hey Henry, you guys heading out to the game? Uh…where's Takato?"

"Where do you THINK I am, Davis?" Takato growled.

Davis peered from the other side of the door and sweatdropped as soon as he saw Takato. Takato wasn't too happy, obviously.

"We really should think about locking our door," Henry thought. Then he noticed something. "Hey, Ken. You taking Wormmon?"

Takato looked over and saw that Ken indeed did have Wormmon on his shoulder. It looked like he was coming along for the ride.

"I wouldn't think of going anywhere without him," Ken replied. "Even if it means drawing some unwanted attention."

"If you don't want to risk him being seen, then stuff him my cooler," Henry offered. "That's where Terriermon's staying."

"This cooler's stuffed to capacity," Terriermon quickly cut in.

"It is not," Henry shot back. "Come on, Ken. There's plenty of room for Wormmon."

"Well…it would take away some of that unwanted attention," Ken noted. "What do you think, Wormmon?"

"I don't have a problem with it," Wormmon said. "I'll go in."

Ken took Wormmon off his shoulder and placed him inside Henry's cooler right beside Terriermon, much to the long-eared Digimon's chagrin.

"Great. There goes my leg room."

With everything set to go, Takato followed everyone out and headed out to the field, where the Odaiba Dragons were about to have their season opener. A Friday night didn't get better than this.

* * *

For the past five days, Jeri was living in a nightmare. Tensions between Rika and Kari had only escalated since their battle with Minatarumon. And after it looked like they were starting to get along, Renamon and Gatomon were once again at each other's throats (though they managed to keep from a laying a hand on each other). Jeri felt stuck in the middle, trying to keep the Rika and Kari situation from exploding. Poor Calumon must have felt the same way, because he was trying to play peacekeeper between Renamon and Gatomon. Impmon, however, just sat back and watched the whole thing, since…well…it was Impmon.

And things weren't getting any better. Jeri wanted to go enjoy the season opener, but she was having a hard time getting Rika and Kari to come out with her. But after three days of pleading, it finally looked like she had succeeded. The two arguing college freshmen were about to come to the season opener with her.

Jeri was already by the door. "Come on, you two! We don't want to be late!"

"Don't rush me!" Rika snapped. "I'm almost ready. I just need my sweater."

Calumon ran over to Jeri, looking worried. "Please don't leave me alone with these two, Jeri! What if they start fighting?"

Calumon was obviously worried that things between Renamon and Gatomon would explode. It was a valid concern. The two Digimon were on opposite beds, staring almost hatefully at each other.

"Calumon, everything will be just fine," Jeri said assuredly. "I have a good feeling that you can keep them from fighting. You might even have them getting along by the end of the night."

Calumon looked up with his big innocent eyes. "You think so?"

"Of course I do," Jeri replied. She leaned in close to whisper in his big ear. "If we should be worried about anyone, it's Kari and Rika. Let's hope I can help those two get along."

Kari walked over to the door, putting a smile on her face. "Well…I guess this night could be pretty fun. Especially if we find our friends at the game."

"We can look for them as soon as we're ready to go. Rika, what's taking you so long?"

Rika put a red OU sweatshirt over her head and turned around. "Ok, I'm…"

Rika stopped in her tracks…as soon as she saw that Kari was wearing the exact same sweater.

"Nice sweater," Kari grinned.

A vein nearly popped out of Rika's head. "Take that sweater off NOW!"

"But…it's cold out there," Kari muttered. "Besides, I like it. What's wrong with me wearing it?"

"If we're wearing the same sweater, people might get the impression that we're twins or something."

Rika then heard some snickering. She turned her head to see that Impmon was laughing.

"Those humans would have to be pretty blind to think you two was twins."

Impmon's laughter was quickly stopped by a pillow that was tossed at his head.

"Who asked you?!" Rika growled. Then she turned back to Kari. "Fine! If that's the way it's gonna be, then I'LL take my sweater off!"

Jeri sweatdropped as Rika removed her sweater. Now she was in her usual broken-heart T-shirt along with her jeans and tennis shoes. Jeri wanted to say something, but as long as she had them going to the game with her, that was all that mattered. She was ready to head out. Unfortunately…that's when her pager went off.

Jeri looked at the number on her pager. "Uh…I have to go."

"What?!" both Rika and Kari snapped.

"There's something I have to do," Jeri said nervously.

"Well, that tears it," Rika said angrily. "If you aren't even going, then there's no point in this. There's no way I'm going to the game alone with Miss Perfect!"

"That's just fine with me," Kari shot back. "I wouldn't want to go to the game with a wannabe Xena anyway!"

"PLEASE don't start fighting!" Jeri pleaded.

"I'm going to that game," Rika said. "But I'm going alone!"

Having said that, Rika stormed out angrily. Kari just stared a hole right into her as she walked out. Then she also walked out.

"I'm going alone, too!"

Jeri sighed deeply. She had hoped that she could help Kari and Rika get along, but that whole plan had blown up in her face. And it was all because of her pager.

"I hope this is worth it," she muttered to herself.

* * *

The stadium on the other side of campus was packed. Davis nearly got lost, but managed to stick together with Ken, Takato, and Henry. But being freshmen, they didn't even know where the front gate was.

"So where's TK?" Takato asked.

"Trying to find Catherine," Ken answered. "I think he wants to go to the game with her."

Davis suddenly realized something. "Uh…Ken? Didn't Tai say HE wanted to take Catherine to the game?"

Ken gulped. "For everybody's sake…let's hope not."

"So we know where TK is," Henry cut in. "But has anybody seen Kazu and Kenta?"

"GUYS!"

"WAIT UP!"

As if on cue, everyone turned around to see Kazu and Kenta running towards them. And they looked rather happy about something. They ran up to the guys and panted heavily. It was as if they had been running all over the place.

"We looked for you guys everywhere!" Kazu exclaimed.

"Well, we're right here," Takato replied. "So what's up?"

"You'll never guess who we just found!" Kenta grinned. He turned around, whistled, and waved. "Hey! Over here!"

Someone else was coming through the crowd of spectators towards them. Davis had never seen this guy before. He was someone their age with a red sweater and black jeans with hair of brown that was combed back, yet standing up. Davis didn't know who he was, but it was obvious that everybody else did.

"RYO!" Takato and Henry shouted.

Ryo exchanged high-fives with Takato and Henry. "It's been a long time, guys! I told you I'd be back someday." Then he froze as soon as he spotted Ken. "Ken Ichijouji?"

Ken was in shock. "Ryo Akiyama?"

Both of them stepped forward and looked at each other in disbelief. After a brief few seconds, both smiled and gave each other a hug.

"You two know each other?" Takato asked.

Ryo nodded. "Ken and I go way back! Back before I even met you guys."

"I haven't seen you in so many years," Ken said. "What have you been up to?"

"Just moved back to West Shinjuku after living in Hong Kong for a year," Ryo answered. "I got here too late to enroll anywhere, so I'm taking a year off. But I heard that my old friends here all enrolled at Odaiba University, so I decided that the best time to come for a visit was…during the Odaiba Dragon's season opener! As soon as I got here, it didn't take long to run into Kazu and Kenta. But I never thought I'd find you here, Ken."

Ken smiled. "It's good to see you again, old friend."

"I bet he won't be the only one glad to see you," Kazu smirked.

"Wait 'til Rika finds out you're here," Kenta added. "Can you picture the look on her face?"

"I…think I can," Henry said nervously.

"Oh…she'll be surprised alright," Takato added with a tone of uncertainty.

Davis had finally had enough of being left out. "Hey! Has anybody forgotten about me?"

Everyone finally turned to Davis and realized that he was completely left in the dark. He hadn't even been properly introduced.

"Sorry about that, Davis," Ken chuckled. "I want you to meet my old friend, Ryo Akiyama. Ryo, this is one of my best friends, Davis Motomiya."

Davis eagerly accepted the handshake. "You've probably heard of me! I wouldn't be surprised if you have!"

"Actually…I haven't," Ryo replied.

Davis frowned. "Then you've obviously been talking to the wrong people. What do Hong Kongians know anyway?"

Before they could all get better acquainted, the crowd started moving faster. Everyone started to make their way inside and the guys decided to join in. But as Davis was struggling to follow.

"Davis!"

Davis turned around and found Kari with Yolei. He waved them over and they walked through the crowd.

"Big turnout, huh?" Yolei commented.

"I hope there's enough space for all of us," Davis thought. "An old friend of the Tamers' showed up. It's kinda funny, since he and Ken seem to know each other, too."

"Really?" Yolei asked curiously. "Who is it?"

"Some guy named Ryo. Can you believe he's never heard of me?"

Kari gasped. "Did you say 'Ryo'?!"

"Don't tell me you've heard of him, too!" Davis cried. "The guy's a bigger celebrity than I am!"

"I haven't met him, but Rika has," Kari answered.

"I think I heard Kazu and Kenta saying something about that," Davis said. "So they know each other, too?"

Kari nodded. "Uh…you might say that. Let's just say that if they run into each other, there'll be more fireworks there than on the field. Let's find a place to sit."

Kari dragged Davis and Yolei by the hand and started catching up with everybody else. The game was about to begin.

* * *

TK adjusted his hair once more before knocking on the door. And it didn't take long for a surprised Catherine to answer.

"TK, I wasn't expecting you here. It's good to see you. I was just heading over to the game."

"I got the idea that you would," TK replied. "I was hoping you'd come to the game with me."

Catherine thought about that. "Well…"

But she didn't get very far when someone else stuck their nose in. "Hey, Catherine!"

TK snarled as Tai once again stuck his nose where it didn't belong.

"Tai, I wasn't expecting you here, either."

"I wanted to surprise you. I was thinking we could go to the game together and take a ride on my hog after."

Catherine thought about that, too. "Well…"

"Oh, you think you're such a big shot with your motorcycle!" TK growled. "You really think that it makes you the better man!"

"I don't think it makes me the better man," Tai shot back. "I think it makes me the cooler man, the hotter man, the faster man…"

"A motorcycle doesn't necessarily make you the faster man," TK pointed out.

"It makes me faster than you!"

"Oh really? What makes you say that?!"

"I've seen your Toyota, TK. Frankly, a bicycle could outrun it."

"You want to put your money where your mouth is? Your motorcycle against my Toyota in a race! Winner gets $50 and gets to take Catherine out after the game."

That got Catherine's attention. "Uh…gentlemen…?"

Tai scoffed. "TK, I know you're jealous of my motorcycle, but PLEASE don't do this to yourself. You're just setting yourself up for a huge embarrassment."

"What makes you say that?"

"Think about it! My awesome motorcycle against your busted Toyota? That's like racing a cheetah and a snail."

"Then you won't have a problem accepting…unless you're afraid."

"TK, the only thing I'm afraid of is embarrassing you. But if you refuse to take 'no' for an answer, then you're on."

"Great! We'll race over by the alley, five blocks from campus."

"Ok, and I'll meet you there!"

Catherine tried to interject herself. "Uh…gentlemen…?"

But it was too late. TK and Tai were storming off in opposite directions. There was more than just a date and $50 on the line. There was also pride. TK had to stand up for the honor of his car and himself.

* * *

Finally, Davis managed to find his friends and find a seat. Of course, it didn't last long. Ever the polite one, Davis gave his seat to Kari and was willing to stand up. Having the others sit while he stood up was beginning to draw some attention and it looked like the first one to recognize that was Kari.

"Davis…why don't we do this instead?"

Kari stood up and sat Davis in her seat. Then she sat on his lap and put her arms around him. Davis could definitely live with this. This was the sort of moment he always dreamed of.

From the other side of the bleacher, Yolei looked like she was getting the same idea. But when she stood up to walk over to Ken's lap…she saw that someone else had quickly beat her to it.

"Hi Ken!"

Ken was totally caught by surprise when Rosa suddenly appeared on his lap. No one was more surprised, or more annoyed, than Yolei.

"Uh…hi, Rosa," Ken said sheepishly. "When did you get here?"

"You're forgetting that my mom's a professor," Rosa giggled. "I'm supposed to go meet her somewhere later, but I just couldn't come to the game without saying hello. I wish I could stay, Ken, but I really should go." She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "But I'll see you later."

Rosa left and Ken started to blush a bright red. That was the last thing Yolei wanted to see, so she took Ken's Pepsi and splashed it over his head.

"This should cool you off!" Yolei growled.

Ken sighed and turned his head to Ryo. "Have you ever had these kind of girl problems before?"

"None that I can think of," Ryo grinned. "I don't think any girl could ever get mad at me."

"Oh…I beg to differ," Terriermon said from inside the cooler. "Speaking of girls, don't you have one you should be looking for right about now?"

"He's right," Ryo agreed. "I'll be right back, guys. I should be back by halftime."

Davis watched as Ryo left. The game was already underway and it was still scoreless. The cheerleaders came onto the sidelines and tried to get the crowd into it. And right behind them was the mascot. A mascot whom Davis found rather familiar.

"Hey, that's a nice costume the mascot's got on," Davis said. "It almost looks like Guilmon."

That got Takato's attention away from his hot dog. "Huh?"

Takato looked on the field and saw that behind the cheerleaders was Guilmon wearing a white Odaiba Dragons sweater. None of the DigiDestined or the Tamers knew what to make of it, especially the cheerleaders not panicking one bit.

Henry opened up the cooler. "Terriermon? You know anything about this?"

"Did I forget to mention that little detail?" Terriermon grinned. "Guilmon's the new Odaiba Dragons' mascot."

"You've got to admit, he's blending in pretty well," Kenta said.

"I don't even think any of them have any idea what he really is," Kazu added.

The cheerleaders were going through their routines as they usually did. They were including Guilmon in as if he were one of their own. The cheerleaders even went ahead and did the usual pyramid routine with Guilmon standing atop the shoulders of two of them.

"He's got a lot of school spirit," Henry noted.

Takato groaned. "Henry, what part of 'Stay in the room' do you think Guilmon didn't understand?"

"You can always ask him whenever the game's over," Kenta suggested. "That is, if he's not busy afterwards."

"What do you mean?" Takato asked curiously.

"Mascots can be popular figures," Davis answered. "We might even see Guilmon dating a cheerleader and taking her out to eat after the game."

"Ok, now that's just being silly," Takato scoffed.

While it sounded silly, everyone looked out on the sidelines to see a cheerleader innocently 'dropping' her pompom right in front of Guilmon. The red lizard just picked it up and handed it back to her. She rewarded his efforts with a kiss on the cheek.

Takato sweatdropped. "Oh yeah. He and I are gonna have to talk."

* * *

Rika looked around everywhere for Takato and Henry. None of them seemed to be around. Henry, in particular, should have stuck out like a sore thumb, since he would undoubtedly have Terriermon with him. But none of them seemed to be around. So she stuck around by the concession area, hoping one of them would drop in.

But it didn't take long for somebody to drop by. And for Rika, it wasn't whom she had in mind.

"Hey! Did you miss me?"

Rika developed an angry twitch right away. Just the sound of that voice was enough to send her over the edge. Yet, she knew it couldn't be possible. How could HE be here? She knew he had to be away in Hong Kong. But when she turned around, she saw that it was, in fact, Ryo Akiyama.

More than anything, Rika wanted to snap. She wanted to go right at him with her cold, intense exterior like she would for anybody else. But something was holding her back. Perhaps it was just the fact of seeing him so unexpectedly. She could only find herself giving him a cold stare.

"What are you doing here?"

"Is that any way to greet an old friend?" Ryo smiled. "I know you missed me, Rika."

"Maybe I did," Rika scowled. "But do you have any idea WHY I missed you?! You just left, Ryo! You never called, you never told me, you never bothered to say goodbye! You just moved off to Hong Kong without saying anything!"

"What's the big deal?" Ryo asked naïvely. "We both knew I wouldn't stay there forever, right?"

"That's not the point! You don't get it, do you?!"

Ryo just tilted his head, unaware of what Rika was insinuating. "Get what?"

Rika couldn't take this. For all his so-called perfections, Ryo was letting the most obvious fact fly completely over his head. This was why just looking at his perfect hair, perfect teeth, and perfect body was enough to get her seething. For all the hoopla about being such a legend and such an amazing guy, he couldn't grasp the obvious. That's what drove Rika to grab her Pepsi and pour it over his head. After drenching his perfect hair, Rika turned and stormed off.

"Idiot!"

She didn't even want to look back. Of course, that didn't mean Ryo wasn't trying to get through the crowd to follow her.

"Rika, wait!"

* * *

This should have been a nice night to get out and forget all about her work. Of course, Talley Onodera had a job to do. Ever since she had reported her suspicions to Yamaki, she was given one strict instruction and that was to keep Izzy Izumi under surveillance. Although there were perks. She did get to see the season opener on the side with the rest of the OU faculty by the sidelines.

"Is he still there?" Riley asked.

"He hasn't gone anywhere," Talley answered. "Still sitting up in the bleachers with the rest of his friends. And he's got that Digimon in his lap."

"Hard to believe everybody can fall for that 'stuffed animal' charade," Riley thought. "Isn't that right, sir? Sir?"

Yamaki wasn't paying attention. Talley looked over and saw what he was seeing. One of the faculty members was leaving. Yamaki had a look that Talley and Riley had grown accustomed to seeing. It was a look of total suspicion.

Yamaki walked over to the departing faculty member. "Leaving so soon?"

The female professor was caught off guard. "Yes, I suddenly remembered a prior engagement."

"You look like you're in a hurry," Yamaki persisted.

"I really am. I just got an urgent message on my pager. I really need to go."

"Alright then, I'll let you tend to your business then…er…I'm sorry. What was your name again?"

"Dr. Marquez."

"That's right. I thought you looked familiar."

"Yes, now please excuse me. I need to go!"

Dr. Marquez pushed past Yamaki and ran off, quickly losing herself from sight amongst the crowd that was rushing off to the restrooms. Talley and Riley slowly approached Yamaki while he turned to another faculty member.

"Can't believe she's rushing off so soon," Yamaki told him.

"Oh, she's always running off like that," the other professor said. "She's hardly ever around, especially lately."

"Is that right?" Yamaki muttered under his breath.

Yamaki walked over to his two partners and walked them aside. It looked it was time for a conference amongst the undercover Hypnos crew.

"I don't like it," Yamaki said. "I've had my eye on her…"

"Is that right?" Riley interrupted with a hint of jealousy.

"That's right," Yamaki said with his no-nonsense tone. "I believe we may have our next suspect."

"But she's already gone," Riley pointed out. "She left through the crowd."

"We haven't lost ALL our suspects," Talley cut in. "Izzy Izumi's still in his seat."

"Keep your eye on him, Talley," Yamaki instructed. "Don't let him out of your sight. Riley, come with me. We're going to try and catch up to Dr. Marquez."

Before Riley could even say anything, she was being dragged off by the arm. Talley suddenly found herself alone. Keeping surveillance on one Izzy Izumi suddenly became a one-woman task. But she was more than up to it.

She had a gut feeling that there was more to Izzy than met the eye.

* * *

It was nearly halftime and the timing wouldn't be better. The best time to strike would be when nobody was expecting anything to happen. The Digimon Empress knew that. And apparently, nobody was expecting anything to happen. She peered past the back of the parking lot and got a good look at the university's stadium. OU Public Safety was nowhere to be seen. The time to bring him out was now.

The Digimon Empress sent the signal and Datamon was more than eager to open the Digital Field. And once the Digital Field opened, SuperStarmon nonchalantly walked out. The Digimon Empress tried to give the instructions, but trying to tell a big-headed star what to do proved to be a futile task.

"Ok, it's almost halftime. I want you to…"

"Can you hear my audience calling me? My adoring fans! Excuse me, young lady. I wouldn't want to deprive them of a show."

SuperStarmon didn't even wait for any further instructions, but just brushed everything off and kept on walking. The Digimon Empress slapped her forehead and reached for her communicator.

"He doesn't listen!" she snarled into her communicator.

_"Just leave him be,"_ Datamon instructed from the other end. _"He'll either get the job done or meet his Waterloo. You just maintain surveillance from a safe distance and report whatever you see. There's still much to learn from the Tamers' fighting techniques."_

Having received that order, The Digimon Empress decided to go find a safe place to watch the fireworks. The season opener was about to take a very interesting twist and it would be something Odaiba University would remember for a long time to come.

* * *

The game was scoreless as halftime was approaching. While Izzy was never the athletic type, he did enjoy watching these games with his friends. And his friends were all enjoying the season opener. So was Tentomon, who was on his lap and just wouldn't stay in the apartment or the Digital World. Everyone had their eye on the game, except for Mimi who just kept looking around.

Joe was the first to question it. "Mimi, what are you looking for?"

"I can't help but think people are staring," Mimi huffed. "Izzy, did you have to bring HIM along?"

Izzy looked down at Tentomon. Carrying around a 'stuffed animal' undoubtedly had him sticking out like a sore thumb.

"He wanted to see the game," Izzy answered. "What else can I say?"

"At least Joe was able to keep Gomamon in my room," Mimi shot back. "Couldn't you do the same for Tentomon? I'm sure the others could have used the company."

"He wants to see what the game is like," Izzy said dryly. "I can't just leave him behind."

Sora was also looking around. "Wasn't Tai supposed to meet us here?"

For the answer to that, everyone looked to their left at Matt.

"What's everyone looking at me for?" Matt asked calmly.

"You're his roommate," Joe pointed out. "Isn't Tai coming?"

"He said he wanted to try and bring that French girl Yolei's been rooming with. But knowing him right now, he's probably trying to give her a ride."

"I hope not," Sora moaned. "I'm worried about Tai getting hurt on that stupid motorcycle!"

"I know Tai can get a little crazy, but let's not worry too much," Izzy said. "We've all matured since the days of our youth and that includes Tai."

"Tai thinks he's matured TOO much," Joe pointed out. "He still feels like he's too old."

"You really think he'll be ok?" Mimi asked.

Izzy nodded positively. "If not, then may something horrible happen right now."

Usually, a statement like that wouldn't backfire on Izzy. That sort of thing usually happened to Davis. Unfortunately, as soon as the whistle blew for halftime…that's when something happened.

"My human public! Behold! The star has arrived!"

Everyone looked around to see where that voice was coming from, including the DigiDestined. Nobody could see where the call came from until Mimi pointed into the sky.

"Up there!"

Izzy and the rest looked up to see that there was something on top of one of the light posts. They could barely make out what it was, but whatever it was, it wasn't friendly.

The figure continued. "If this is halftime, then it's time to give you humans a halftime show you'll never forget! Halley Squall!"

A bright light came from the sky. It came closer and was revealed to be a red comet. It went on a direct course for the field and crashed by the middle of the field. It was then that the crowd figured out that this wasn't part of the halftime festivities and started scattering. The DigiDestined, of course, stuck around to see just what was causing this chaos.

They didn't have to wait long, because the figure leapt down from the lights and landed by the crash site. It was a Digimon.

"Is that Starmon?" Sora asked.

"I don't think so," Tentomon chimed in. "He looks different."

"I don't think that's the same Starmon," Matt added.

Izzy kept his eye on that Starmon look-alike. This was another threat, but unlike the others, it had actually struck the campus. He had to be stopped.

* * *

The crowd was scattering at this point. But the DigiDestined and Tamers weren't moving. Davis was the first one to stand up, after lifting Kari off his knee, of course. He didn't want to go through this now. He didn't want to see that a Digimon had actually stuck in HIS school.

"It looks like Starmon," Yolei thought. "But he looks red and…what's up with those shades?"

"Where's my adoring public going?" the star shouted from the field. "Nobody leaves during MY show!"

Takato pointed his Digivice towards the field. "SuperStarmon, ultimate level. The only thing bigger than his Halley Squall attack is his ego."

"Nobody crashes MY school's season opener!" Davis said nobly.

"Give it a few seconds," Henry said softly. "When everyone clears out, we can take him on."

Davis waited patiently. The Digimon were clear across campus. In fact, the only ones present were in the cooler. It would be up to Terriermon and Wormmon. Hopefully, they would be up for the fight.

* * *

TK could only imagine that the season opener was already underway. And here he was, five blocks away around an abandoned parking lot. But he was more than willing to miss the first half to prove he was better than Tai. Though, Tai did make one good point. Perhaps TK had bitten off more than he could chew when he challenged Tai to a race.

But there WAS one other ace in the hole for TK. Maybe he DID drive a busted Toyota, but there was one adjustment he had made to it. It was something he had worked on ever since Tai bought that motorcycle. And hopefully, it would even the playing field.

When TK arrived, he didn't make any of his anxieties visible. He arrived with a cocky smirk as he looked out the window. Quite a crowd was forming, obviously the street racing fans. That's when it started to sink into TK just what he was getting himself into. He had gotten himself into a STREET RACE!

It all went out the window, however, when he saw Tai revving up his motorcycle. TK remembered why he was there. He was going to show Catherine who the faster man was.

He could only hope that he wouldn't get himself killed in the process.

  


Next Time: A fight erupts on the soccer field when the DigiDestined and Tamers take on SuperStarmon. Can Terriermon and Wormmon hold their own while Takato searches for Guilmon the mascot? Meanwhile five blocks away, a whole DIFFERENT kind of battle takes place. It's a street race between Tai and TK! But is TK really going to race his busted Toyota…or has he given it a boost? And there's yet another different kind of conflict somewhere else. What ended up happening between Ryo and Rika? And what's happening at the other side of campus, where all is peaceful? How is Calumon going to keep peace between Renamon and Gatomon on THIS night? @_@ Find out on the next Digimon: The College Years!

  


Any comments? Then mail me at AmericanCaptor@hotmail.com and don't forget to review below!


	15. The Fast and the Delirious

Last Week: The Odaiba University soccer season opener began and the Tamers were more than surprised to be reunited with their old friend, Ryo Akiyama. But they weren't the only ones who had their reunion with Ryo. After many years, Ken and Ryo have reunited also. Of course the BIG reunion was Ryo and Rika. And that ended with Rika storming off with Ryo chasing after her. The festivities were cut short, however, when SuperStarmon crashed the season opener and sent the crowd scattering. Meanwhile, there's another battle about to be waged. Tai and TK are about to have a street race for $50 and Catherine's affections! It looks like a mismatch on paper: Tai's motorcycle against TK's busted Toyota. But TK has an ace in the hole on this night.

  


**Digimon: The College Years**

Episode 15- The Fast and the Delirious

  


TK slowly pulled into the alley and pulled side-by-side with Tai's motorcycle before turning off the ignition. He stepped out of the car and walked over to Tai, who was casually revving his engine. Tai calmly removed his helmet, getting his hair to spring up, and gave him a cocky stare.

"Are you sure you want to go through with this?" Tai smirked. "You really want to embarrass yourself like this?"

TK returned the smirk. "You won't be smiling when you see what I've got up my sleeve. Just get ready to race."

With a crowd quickly forming, TK walked over to his Toyota with a confident walk. On paper, this looked like a total mismatch. How could a busted Toyota stand a chance against a Honda Rebel motorcycle? But that's where TK's ace in the hole came into play.

The difference would be in TK's trunk…which contained a boost of NOS, otherwise known as nitro. It would give his car a much-needed boost and would likely be the difference between victory and utter humiliation. But he couldn't help but be a little wary.

"I hope I know what I'm doing."

* * *

Everyone was running and the DigiDestined and Tamers soon found themselves ready to take the field. Davis was more than willing to lead the way, but without Veemon, he could only do so much. But that didn't mean there weren't Digimon present.

Reading Davis's mind, Henry reached for the cooler and opened it up. Terriermon eagerly jumped out, feeling anxious for a battle.

"I'm ready this time, Henry! Send me in!"

Henry took out his Digivice. "Then get in there!"

Terriermon rushed down the bleachers and jumped the fence to get on the field while Henry reached into his pocket for one of his cards. He took one of his cards and slashed it through his Digivice.

"DigiModify! Digivolution activate!"

**Digivolution**

**Terriermon…Digivolve to…Gargomon!**

Davis hadn't seen a Gargomon since he met his friend, Willis, in Colorado. But there was a Gargomon, ready for a fight. But SuperStarmon just looked slightly annoyed.

"I don't like your attitude!" SuperStarmon bellowed. "You're planning to upstage me, aren't you?! Well, nobody upstages the STAR!"

Gargomon just shook his head. "Nobody likes temperamental stars. Gargo Laser!"

Gargomon released a number of turrets from the barrel on his hand, but each shot only bounced off SuperStarmon's shiny exterior. The attack only had the charismatic star yawning. As a counterattack, SuperStarmon grabbed a piece of the comet that fell on the field and tossed it at Gargomon, sending him flying into the soccer net. The net fell down and Gargomon found himself stuck.

SuperStarmon raised his hands. "GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!"

"This isn't going well at all, is it?" Davis noted.

"I think SuperStarmon's leading in points," Yolei replied.

"We need another player on the field," Ken suggested. He pulled Wormmon out of the cooler and sent him down the bleachers before raising his Digivice. "Let's do it, Wormmon!"

****Wormmon…Digivolve to…Stingmon!****

Stingmon was ready to join in, but everyone had a hunch it wouldn't be enough. SuperStarmon didn't look like he'd give up without a fight.

"Takato, go find Guilmon!" Davis cried. "We're going to need him on this one!"

Takato looked around. "I don't see him! He was just here!"

"He might have gotten dragged off with the cheerleaders!" Kari thought. "They were heading for the locker room!"

Takato hurried off to search for Guilmon. Growlmon could really help turn the tide, because SuperStarmon looked to have the advantage, despite the numbers being against him.

Stingmon flew down to the field and attacked. "Spiking Strike!"

Even at close range, Stingmon's attack barely left a dent. All that did was get SuperStarmon even more ornery. He fought back by lifting up his shades.

"Galactic Eyes!"

An intense eye beam sent Stingmon down. After taking the champion bug down, SuperStarmon turned and slowly started stalking the DigiDestined and Tamers. Stingmon tried to get up and apparently made a discovery.

"A Black Gear!"

Stingmon tried to cut SuperStarmon off, but the star just turned around to intercept him. That's when everyone saw the Black Gear in his back. If there was one more Digimon around, the Black Gear could be destroyed. But Gargomon was stuck in the soccer net and Guilmon was still missing.

"HEY! Don't just huddle up together!"

Everyone looked at the other side of the bleachers. It was Matt and the older DigiDestined.

"Don't create one target! Scatter!"

That was the only instruction everyone needed to hear. The DigiDestined and Tamers started scattering across the field. But things weren't getting any better. SuperStarmon was winning the battle with Stingmon. Davis peered over towards the locker room.

They needed Takato and Guilmon.

* * *

Everyone had scattered, but Talley wasn't about to go anywhere, even in the midst of a Digimon attack. She had a job to do. With the Digimon attack coming so suddenly in the middle of the game, she knew it had to be the work of the mole who brought it in. And she had a feeling that she was looking straight at the mole, who was walking onto the field with that other Digimon.

It had to be Izzy Izumi.

Talley walked onto the field and decided to take the mole down now. But what she didn't see coming, was that SuperStarmon had jumped onto her path, apparently having tossed the bug out of his way.

"There's nothing a star hates more than an uncooperative audience!"

SuperStarmon looked like he was about to attack. That's when Izzy suddenly turned around.

"Professor Onodera!!"

Izzy let the Digimon out of his arms and he came right towards them.

****Tentomon…Digivolve to…Kabuterimon!****

The Digimon known as Kabuterimon tackled SuperStarmon and knocked him away from Talley. SuperStarmon got right back on his feet and began to fight back.

Izzy rushed over to Talley's side. "What are you still doing here? You have to run!"

Talley curiously looked over at the fight ensuing. "You're helping FIGHT that thing?"

Izzy struggled to find an answer. "Uh…well…yeah……you might say that."

"And here I thought you were working for the other side," Talley blurted out.

That seemed to have caught Izzy by surprise. "What?"

Talley had a feeling her cover may have been blown. For a government agent, she should have been able to come up with a fabricated story at the snap of a finger. But she couldn't just lie to this guy. He had saved her life.

"We need to talk."

* * *

Rika didn't even go back to her dorm. She actually walked away from the school and decided to take a walk. What she didn't know, but should have expected, was that there was someone else walking behind her.

"Rika, wait!"

"Go away!"

She didn't want to see Ryo, but he just wouldn't leave. He kept following slowly behind her. She didn't want to turn around, but after almost an hour of this, she finally stopped and turned around.

"This could be considered stalking, you know!"

"I want to know what's upsetting you! Why do you keep running away from me? Did I do something wrong?"

Rika was astounded. "You really DON'T get it, do you? I can't believe you! I always thought you had more brainpower than Kazu and Kenta put together, but you don't have a clue, do you?"

Ryo looked legitimately stupefied. "Can you please tell me what I did?"

There was no use in trying to jog his memory. Rika tried the best she could, but it was all for naught. There was nothing more she could do, except give him a harsh reminder.

"A year ago, you moved away to Hong Kong. As if it wasn't bad enough that you left right before our senior year, you actually had the gall to leave without saying goodbye to me! Do you have any idea how it made me feel to have to hear it from Takato and Henry? Were you planning to send me a postcard or something?!"

Ryo blinked. "I…didn't think you'd be mad about it. Rika, I didn't think it was a big deal. We all knew it wouldn't last forever. In fact, it's been only a year and I'm already back. It wasn't like when I was stuck in the Digital World. This only lasted one year."

"That's not the point," Rika groaned. "You don't do that, Ryo! If you're leaving, you say goodbye. That's how it works!"

Ryo hesitated. "I…guess it hit you harder than I thought. I really didn't think it would, Rika." Then he smirked. "You must have really missed me, huh?"

That was enough to bring Rika back to her usual self. There was nothing that brought out the best (or worst) in Rika Nonaka than the ever-confident Ryo Akiyama.

"Yeah right," Rika scoffed. "Me? Miss you? Please!"

"Then why are you making such a big deal out of this?" Ryo grinned.

"It's the principle of the thing!" Rika said calmly. "Frankly, I could care less if you were still gone. If anything, it got people paying more attention to me. Not that I ever doubted who was better, but for some reason, people think you're some kind of…"

"Legend?"

"Yes, legend," Rika snarled through gritted teeth. "You know, that's another thing. You always thought you were so good!"

"I beat you, didn't I?"

"You got lucky!"

"That's not what Kazu and Kenta said."

"Kazu and Kenta have the combined IQ of a Twinkie! What do they know?"

"Doesn't matter what they know; it matters what they saw. And they saw me beat you."

Rika had no retort to that. Ryo had gotten the best of her again. And he obviously knew it, because he had that confident smile on his face. Rika nearly cracked a smile.

"Ok, I guess I'll admit that maybe…just maybe…I missed you…a little bit."

"A little bit?"

"That's all you get out of me! Don't push it, Mr. Legend!"

Ryo innocently put his hands up. "Ok, I'll take what I can get."

There was something about Ryo Akiyama that Rika found aggravating and charming at the same time. It was his seeming belief that he could do no wrong. Even if he had blatantly done something fallible, he always remained so positive about it. It was irritating…yet captivating.

"So you want to go back to the game?" Ryo suggested.

Rika shrugged. "Let's just walk around. It looks like a slow game anyway."

* * *

What was a soccer game less than an hour ago has now exploded into an all-out Digimon battle. And SuperStarmon was outnumbered. The DigiDestined and Tamers were at different corners of the field and the Digimon surrounded the ultimate-level ego. Stingmon and SuperStarmon stood face-to-face while Gargomon was trying to sneak up from behind, obviously hoping to take out the Black Gear on the star's back.

But it was like SuperStarmon had eyes in the back of his head. He saw Gargomon coming and quickly turned around.

"Galactic Eyes!"

An eye beam sent Gargomon to the ground. Stingmon tried to take advantage of the distraction and rush him, but SuperStarmon just caught the champion bug and tossed him aside like a sack of potatoes.

Izzy knew this wasn't going well and he knew it would have been a good time to jump in, but he was dealing with something else at the moment. He was dealing with his professor.

"Just who ARE you, anyway?" Professor Onodera demanded. "How did you get a Digimon? Are you a Tamer?"

"No, I'm a DigiDestined," Izzy answered. Then his eyes widened. "Wait! How do YOU know about the Tamers?!"

"Izzy, if you haven't noticed, we have a small problem over there," Kabuterimon cut in.

Izzy realized his partner was right. He looked over at his professor. "We have a lot to talk about."

"You don't know the half of it," Professor Onodera agreed.

There would be plenty of time to talk later on, but now was the time for action. It would take an ultimate-level Digimon to even up the odds. With that in mind, Izzy held up his Digivice.

****Kabuterimon…Digivolve to…MegaKabuterimon!****

Kabuterimon had reached the ultimate level and things were starting to look up. MegaKabuterimon took the field, just as the other two Digimon were recovering. That's when Davis stepped onto the field, himself.

"Ok, team! We've got him outnumbered! Let's do it!"

The three Digimon on the field struck.

"Spiking Strike!"

"Gargo Laser!"

"Horn Buster!"

Izzy started to get worried that such an onslaught of attacks would inadvertently eradicate SuperStarmon. Just as expected, there was huge impact in the form of an explosion at the center of the field. It looked like they got overzealous and killed a Digimon.

But to everyone's surprise…SuperStarmon began to emerge from the smoke.

"I will not be cancelled like some bad sitcom! The show WILL go on!"

* * *

Takato looked around the locker room. The players and cheerleaders were scattering everywhere and he didn't see any sign of his friend. He treaded carefully through the locker room, trying not to get knocked down by the evacuating students. When he couldn't find Guilmon, he ran into the shower room.

Each shower was turned on. That didn't make things any easier. Takato looked through each shower stall, one-by-one, finding emptiness. Then he looked in a stall that didn't have its shower on. And that's where he found Guilmon. Much to his surprise and shock, Guilmon was being held tightly by…a cheerleader.

"Hi Takato," Guilmon said calmly. "Uh…have you met my friend?"

"What are you doing?" Takato muttered dryly.

"She's scared, Takato," Guilmon answered.

"Is that thing still out there?" the cheerleader cried.

"I think help's on the way," Takato answered. He reached over for Guilmon's hand. "Let's go get that help!"

The cheerleader held Guilmon's other hand. "You won't leave me, will you, Gil?"

"Uh…gee…I don't know…"

"We have to go…Gil," Takato persisted.

Guilmon obviously didn't want to leave this cheerleader. But this was a dire situation and it looked like he knew that. So Guilmon moved towards Takato while making sure to comfort his cheerleader friend.

"You'll be ok. We have to get help. I'll be back later."

The cheerleader was shaken, but nodded slowly. Now that this issue was settled, Takato started dragging Guilmon towards the back door that led outside.

"Who was that?" Takato asked curiously.

"Her name was……uh…darn, I knew I forgot something."

"Oh never mind."

Once Takato and Guilmon were safely out the door, they looked around to make sure the coast was clear. And with nobody around, it was time to take things to the next level.

"If SuperStarmon is as tough as I think he is…then I think you know what we have to do."

Guilmon nodded knowingly. There was one more trick that Takato had up his sleeve. And it was time to reveal it. Takato held up his Digivice.

**Biomerge Digivolution**

"Biomerge Digivolution activate!"

****Guilmon…Biomerge to…Gallantmon!****

It had been a very long time, but Takato had once again resorted to Biomerging. It would be up to the Mega-level Gallantmon to save the day.

* * *

Gatomon just batted around a ball of string. "Is it me or is this night really boring?"

Renamon sighed deeply. "I agree with you, for once. It's a shame that everybody is across campus, because that leaves us on our own."

"There isn't even a soccer game on TV at this hour!" Gatomon cried. "I can't spend this night bored out of my skull…ESPECIALLY with YOU!"

"You think I'M thrilled about this?!" Renamon demanded. "I'd love nothing better than to toss you around right now, but we agreed we wouldn't. And it's too bad, because you're such a weak little furball. I'd make short work of you."

"That's not how it went last time!" Gatomon shot back. "I had you going!"

"As I recall, I was winning last time."

"You were winning because you spit water in my face!"

"And you only got a brief advantage because you jumped me by surprise!"

Calumon thought he was having a relatively easy night. No conflicts had arisen between Renamon and Gatomon until now. It looked like the little one would have to try and ease tensions once again. Then he got an idea.

"Hey, Impmon? I think I have a way we can all get along!"

Impmon just casually chewed on a hot dog. "They look like they're about to lose it. You really think YOU can do anything about it?"

Calumon ran over to the closet. "I think Jeri might have something we can use. I remember seeing it a while ago."

Calumon realized he couldn't reach all the way up for what he was reaching for, so he had to use his head and grab a chair to reach up there. He tried to pull the box back, but he lost his balance and fell back. Impmon, ever considerate, caught Calumon…but dropped him a second later to catch the box.

Impmon scoffed when he saw the box. "THIS is what you're gonna solve the problem with?"

Calumon's ears shrunk. "I think it could work."

Curious as a cat, Gatomon walked over to Impmon. "What do you have there?" When she saw it, she actually smiled. "Now this could be fun."

"What is it?" Renamon asked curiously.

Gatomon held up the box and smirked. "Twister!"

Renamon sweatdropped. "PLEASE tell me that isn't what I think it is."

Calumon definitely had honorable intentions. A nice game would hopefully smooth things out between Renamon and Gatomon. However, there was the matter of Impmon. And Impmon decided to play instigator.

"You know, I have an idea of my own," Impmon began. "Since you two are so bent on wanting to know who's better, I propose…a little competition. And the name of the game is Twister. One-on-one. What do ya say?"

Gatomon snickered. "Oh, come on. I've never known anyone to be as stiff as Renamon. She wouldn't last five seconds."

"Is that what you think?!" Renamon snapped. "I'll show you, cat! I'm in!"

"So am I!" Gatomon shot back.

Calumon sweatdropped. "Uh…Impmon? This isn't what I really had…"

"Quiet," Impmon whispered back. "This could be loads of fun if it goes the way I think it will."

Tensions were rising again. Though the battle would be in a much more domestic setting, that didn't mean it wouldn't be any less intense. And Calumon could practically feel the fireworks about to go off.

"SET IT UP!!" Renamon and Gatomon snapped at Calumon.

Poor Calumon felt like he was caught in the middle. Playing peacemaker wasn't as much fun as he thought it would be.

* * *

TK could feel the sweat going down his temples as he sat behind the wheel. He looked to his left to see Tai revving the engine on his motorcycle, but with the helmet over his head, he couldn't tell what Tai was feeling. A large crowd had gathered on the sidelines and one man stood in between the two cars. He held up a white flag, which would signal the start of the race.

The goal was to reach the painted white line at the end of the alley first. It had to be at least a mile away. And though there were many people eager to see a good race, they immediately thought of the whole thing as a mismatch when they saw Tai's motorcycle…and TK's busted Toyota.

More than anything, TK was finding himself with something to prove. He had to prove that his car wasn't anything to be laughed at. A lot of pride was at stake and he would show that motorcycles weren't all they were cracked up to be.

As Tai revved his motorcycle, TK decided to get his car started. Unfortunately when he turned the key…the car wouldn't start. The whole crowd went silent…with the exception of a few snickers.

TK stuck his head out his window. "It's ok! It'll be one second!"

The most embarrassing thing would be if he had to jumpstart his car for a race. But TK knew it wouldn't have to come to that. He gave the key one more turn and stepped on the gas. His Toyota finally got started. The crowd dramatically hushed as both engines revved, even though Tai's was much louder. And when the white flag was waved, the race began.

And as just about everybody expected, Tai pulled away early. TK's Toyota practically sputtered ahead while Tai wasn't even going at full speed. The old leader of the DigiDestined was as cocky as the hare was when he was smoking the tortoise.

That's when TK decided that it was time to pull ahead. He flipped the switch right by the parking brake to activate the NOS boost. Although TK had never actually USED the boost before, so when he flipped the switch, he got more than he bargained for.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!"

The Toyota now sputtered along, but at a blinding speed. TK pulled past a very surprised Tai, but that's when everything started to go wrong. The engine began to die and that wasn't good for the nitro. The car came to a stop and TK's trunk burst into flames. A chill went down TK's spine when he realized what was about to happen.

"That can't be good."

Without giving it a second thought, TK threw his door opened and leapt out of his car. He ran as far as he could before his car finally exploded. The explosion sent TK diving for the ground and when he raised his head, he saw that he was right at the foot of Tai's motorcycle.

Tai whistled. "Isn't that something?"

TK turned around and saw that his Toyota was nothing more than a pile of flaming parts now. His car was totaled.

Tai shook his head. "TK, don't you realize that nitro doesn't mesh well with a pile of junk?"

TK stayed silent momentarily before he finally asked. "Did I at least win?"

Tai pointed at the line. TK was astounded when he saw that he had missed the white line by a few feet. He missed it by that much.

"I think it's safe to say you forfeit, since your car's toast," Tai grinned.

"Maybe you're right," TK grumbled. "Ok, you can take Catherine to the game."

"What about my $50?"

"You'll get it after my next paycheck!" TK growled. Then he realized something. "That is, if I still have a job! How am I supposed to deliver pizzas without a car?!"

Tai nodded. "Good point. Oh well. You can worry about that while I take Catherine to the game." He was about to drive off, but when he looked around, he turned the engine off. "Uh…where is she?"

TK looked around, too. "I thought she was with you."

Silence.

"Don't tell me I went through all this for nothing!" Tai cried.

"What about what *I* went through?!" TK shot back. "I lost my car!!"

"Well, that's just great. I completely wipe you out in a race and Catherine isn't even here to see it. I was actually feeling young for the first time in a long time. Hop on, I'll give you a ride back to campus. Maybe we can catch the end of the game."

TK got on the back of the motorcycle. "We've got to stop letting girls drive us crazy."

"No kidding. I tell your brother that all the time."

TK shrugged. "I really should take after him. He's smart enough to stick with the right girl."

"I thought you HAD the right girl."

That hurt. As soon as Tai said that, TK immediately thought of Kari and what they used to share together. It was hard for him to cope with knowing that it was really over between them, especially since it was never his decision to break up. He still tried to convince himself that moving on was the best thing.

If anything, this whole fiasco was at least getting his mind off of Kari…and off his classes.

* * *

There was now a standoff on the field. Stingmon, Gargomon, and MegaKabuterimon had thrown everything at SuperStarmon but the kitchen sink. Not only was the star still standing, but he was still tossing out annoying one-liners like nobody else could.

"Is that it?" SuperStarmon scoffed. "I've had tougher battles with rowdy fans and autograph chasers. I've had tougher battles with a two Digi-dollar steak. Come on, put some muscle into it!"

Gargomon and Stingmon groaned. This was getting tiring and they just wanted the fight to end. MegaKabuterimon went ahead and tried to bring the fight to him.

"Horn Buster!"

But like all the other attacks, that one just created an explosion from which SuperStarmon emerged unscathed. The DigiDestined and the Tamers were getting visibly frustrated and the Digimon Empress couldn't enjoy it more.

She had the best seat in the house. She was right underneath the visitors' bleachers, watching the whole show. The only problem she had was that SuperStarmon spent more time coming up with witty remarks and sarcastic quips than on getting the job done. It was just as she, Datamon, and Puppetmon thought. He was too cocky for his own good. He's toying with them when he should be destroying them.

"So…you guys give up?" SuperStarmon smirked.

"Give up?" Gargomon growled. "We aren't giving up!"

"And who's gonna stop me?"

"I will!" 

That wasn't any of the three Digimon there. The Digimon Empress distinctly heard someone else boldly stepping up to the plate. She looked over and saw that a fourth ally had arrived for the DigiDestined and Tamers. One whom she didn't recognize. He looked like a tall knight, with a lance on his right hand and large round shield on his left. He wore white armor and a large red cape that blew in the wind.

His presence angered SuperStarmon. "Hey, what is this? Don't you know that Medieval movies are a thing of the past?!"

"I'm not an actor, I'm a hero! And I'm here to put a stop to you, SuperStarmon, and teach you a lesson for ruining our season opener!"

That was a second voice that came out of this Digimon. The Digimon Empress had heard it before, but she couldn't place where.

"Who is that?" Stingmon muttered under his breath.

"That's Gallantmon!" Gargomon announced. "Mega Digimon with a sense of justice as big as his cape. He should be more than able to handle this clown!"

Gallantmon and SuperStarmon went one-on-one and circled each other. It was like a western showdown, something that would be more characteristic of a cowpoke like Starmon. Finally, SuperStarmon attacked first by lifting his shades.

"Galactic Eyes!"

The eye beams bounced harmlessly off Gallantmon's shield. That got the cocky star nervous…and cowering.

"Uh…hey, that's a neat shield you have there. I was just joking, pal. WAIT! I don't do my own stunts!"

Gallantmon rushed forward. "Lightning Joust!"

After taking just about everything the other Digimon could dish out, Gallantmon's Lightning Joust attack sent SuperStarmon flying. The Digimon Empress's jaw dropped. That was unparalleled power.

"Datamon, are you seeing this?" she whispered into her communicator.

_"That is a very interesting Digimon. And VERY powerful. We may be in over our heads. You'd better report back here. We need to regroup."_

Gallantmon went with his next attack. "Shield of the Just!"

Attacking with his enormous shield, Gallantmon nailed SuperStarmon right in the face. The star flew back until he hit the post of the soccer goal. He fell on his face and struggled to get up. He had been beaten. Not just beaten, but utterly wiped out by Gallantmon.

The Digimon Empress grumbled. "Powerful, indeed."

Finally having the opening he needed, Gargomon aimed and fired. "Gargo Laser!"

The Black Gear on SuperStarmon's back was blown into oblivion. The battle was over. With SuperStarmon still down on the ground, the DigiDestined and Tamers took the field.

DigiDestined leader, Davis Motomiya, looked up at the hero of the night. "Gallantmon?"

"Guilmon's Mega form," Henry cleared up.

"You guys can reach Mega?" Ken asked.

"Yeah," a second voice of Gallantmon's answered. "But there IS a little more to it than you might think."

Davis was in awe. "TAKATO?!"

The DigiDestined present couldn't believe what they were seeing. Frankly, neither could The Digimon Empress. It was unlike anything she had ever seen. Takato was a part of Gallantmon. Takato WAS Gallantmon!

Gallantmon cleared his throat. "Uh…ok…guys…this is how Tamers reach Mega. We Biomerge with our Digimon."

The DigiDestined were speechless.

Henry cleared his throat. "I guess we have even more to talk about."

With this new information in mind, The Digimon Empress knew she had to rush back to the Digital World. Biomerging was a whole new thing they hadn't factored in at all.

* * *

After the battle was over, Izzy felt like he was hallucinating. He couldn't believe what he saw and what he heard. And now his mind was filled with more curiosity than it had ever been. This must have been what Gennai was referring to when he said that the Tamers had more tricks up their sleeves. This was a whole new way to reach the Mega level and Izzy was more than excited about it.

Though as much as he wanted to rush over to Gallantmon and get all his questions out in the open, he knew that there were other questions that needed addressing. And all those questions regarded Professor Onodera, who was looking right at him.

"So you're not just a plain Teachers' Aide, are you, Izzy?"

"And you're not just an ordinary college professor, are you, Professor Onodera?"

Professor Onodera nodded and walked over to meet up with MegaKabuterimon, who was walking back. Izzy tagged along right behind her as MegaKabuterimon devolved into Motimon and jumped into his arms.

"Who are you?" Izzy asked. "Really?"

Professor Onodera answered with a question of her own. "Did you say you were a DigiDestined?"

"That's right."

"Then you and I need to see somebody," Professor Onodera replied. She handed Izzy a card. "Call this number on Monday morning and meet me in the computer lab. We're going to have a little meeting with my superior."

"Superior? Are you some kind of government agent?"

There was a twinkle in Professor Onodera's eye. "Come by on Monday and find out."

Without walking to any of the other DigiDestined or Tamers, Professor Onodera started to walk off the field. Izzy didn't know what to make of this at all.

All questions would be answered on Monday.

* * *

Gatomon and Renamon stood with their arms crossed and their backs to one another. They had matching sour expressions on their faces, something that was quickly becoming routine. Calumon hated to see them like this. He didn't think these would get so intense…over a game of Twister.

The mat was out in the middle of the floor. Impmon was standing on the table with the spinner in his hand, ready to referee the whole thing. And to drive home the intensity of the competition, Renamon and Gatomon turned around and glared at each other coldly.

"Alright, let's get the party started," Impmon smirked. He spun the spinner. "Right hand, blue."

Without taking their eyes off one another, Renamon and Gatomon put their right hand on a blue circle.

"Right foot, green."

The green circle was in front of the blue circle. Therefore, they both had to turn around to put their foot in the right place. Of course, Renamon turned clockwise, nearly tripping Gatomon. She managed to stand on one hand to avoid getting her legs swept out from under her.

"Nice try, Foxy."

Renamon just growled like a wild animal upon hearing that moniker. Calumon noticed that she was turning a shade of red, a big difference from her usual yellow.

The game continue with left foot on yellow, right hand on green, left hand on red, right foot on blue, and left hand on blue. Now both Digimon were on two feet, but bending down with their arms crossed in front of them on the ground. It didn't bode well for Gatomon, because Renamon's furry tail was literally in her face…and tickling her nose.

"Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah…CHOO!"

"EWWW!!"

Renamon took a spill on the ground when Gatomon sneezed on her. She was rolling around uncontrollably, losing her head like Calumon had never seen before.

"And that makes Gatomon the winner," Impmon grinned.

"That's not fair!" Renamon cried. "She sneezed on me! I have cat germs all over me!"

"I beat you fair and square, Renamon," Gatomon smirked. "You don't have nerves of steel and catlike reflexes like I do."

Renamon reached for a towel and frantically cleaned her fur. Then she tossed the towel aside.

"I guess you can't beat me at Twister, either," Gatomon grinned. "Why don't you just admit that I'm better than you?"

Renamon sighed. "You know, it's a shame that I can't let Rika watch me wring your neck, because then I'd be on my way back home."

"That's a very good point, Foxy," Gatomon said smugly.

Renamon suddenly got in Gatomon's face. "But Rika isn't here…IS SHE?!"

Gatomon gulped as the room quieted to a hush. After a brief moment of silence, Renamon reached over and put her arms around Gatomon's neck, strangling her furiously.

"Just like that show my old Tamers used to watch all the time," Impmon chuckled.

Calumon ran over to try and separate them. "Renamon, STOP! Let go! What if someone comes in right now! You could get sent home! Cut it out! Impmon, HELP ME!"

The scene had degenerated into chaos. Renamon had a firm grip on Gatomon's neck. Gatomon had now reached over for Renamon's neck. Poor Calumon was trying to loosen their grips to no avail. And Impmon…was eating popcorn on the table.

And as if things couldn't get any worse…the door suddenly opened. And when it did, all action came to a screeching halt and all eyes were on the door.

Calumon waved cheerfully. "Hi Jeri!"

Jeri Katou was standing speechless at the door. "What's going on here?!"

Renamon and Gatomon released their grips and pointed at each other. "SHE STARTED IT!"

Jeri frowned. "Calumon, I thought you had things under control. And Impmon…why are you just sitting there eating popcorn?!"

Impmon shrugged. "I haven't seen a fight this good since the last soccer riot."

Jeri wandered over to the bickering Renamon and Gatomon and put a hand on each of their shoulders. "I thought you two were starting to get along. I thought you two could hold in your grudge. Are you telling me that your rage towards one another is worth risking being sent home? What do you two have to say for yourselves?"

Both Digimon hung their heads down, while facing away from one another.

"I have let my anger overcome me," Renamon said shamefully. "I lost control."

"Yeah, I didn't exactly help, either," Gatomon added.

"So will you two just shake hands?"

"NO!" they both snapped.

Jeri sighed and put a hand in her pocket. When she put it back up, she revealed her sock puppet.

"If you don't, I'll tell Rika and Kari about this," the puppet threatened. "And then you'll BOTH be heading home!"

Renamon and Gatomon gulped before hastily shaking hands.

Jeri grinned and looked at her puppet. "It's a start."

"We'll keep working on it," the puppet said.

Calumon looked over at the calendar and realized that he had only been on this campus for a few weeks. He couldn't bear to think how much of a chore playing peacekeeper would be in the future.

He didn't want to play this game anymore.

* * *

"You didn't have to follow me back here."

Rika tried to stray as far from Ryo as she could, yet he was still following along right behind her. She didn't know what he was doing there since she certainly wasn't about to invite him into her room.

"I just wanted to make sure you got back safely," Ryo said innocently.

"I don't need anybody's protection," Rika growled. "I can take care of myself! You, of all people, should know that."

"Yeah, I guess I should. So…as long as I'm here…don't you want to invite me in?"

"No."

Ryo smirked as they reached Rika's door. "What's the matter? Your room a mess?"

"I happen to be VERY clean! My roommates and I may not have too much in common, but we're all the same in that respect."

"Your roommates? I don't think I've met them."

"Well, you know Jeri and then there's…"

Rika stopped. She saw a lot of Kari's personality traits in Ryo and vice versa. The only difference was that Ryo was so confident that it sometimes got to the point of arrogance, while Kari totally played it innocent when it came to her perfections.

"…Kari."

"I think I might have seen her at the game. She's pretty cute."

"You and Kari are cut from the same mold," Rika quipped sarcastically. "You both live to annoy me and it's a wonder I can tolerate either of you!"

"Oh, now I'm curious. I want to get to know this girl a little better."

"Well, that's too bad because she's not here! And neither should you! Don't you have a home?"

"Yeah, I have a little place. Just a temporary little apartment while I take the year off. I can take a hint, Rika. I'd better go find Takato and Henry, anyway. But I'll definitely see you around."

"I look forward to it," Rika grumbled.

Rika stuck around with her hand on the doorknob as Ryo turned to walk away. But there was one more thing she wanted to say before he left.

"Hey! You owe me a rematch!"

"Rika, you've never beaten me before in your life. It's getting pretty boring."

Rika turned beet red. "I'll show you, Ryo Akiyama! You are NOT that good!"

"You just keep telling yourself that, Rika. You might even start to believe it someday."

Rika felt like screaming. This was an exercise in frustration. But she wouldn't give Ryo the satisfaction of seeing her explode. So she waited until he was safely out of sight before turning the doorknob to unleash her anger somewhere else. Unfortunately, the room was occupied.

Jeri had come back. She looked at Rika curiously, noting the shade of angry red her face had turned, the fire in her eyes, and the angry twitch just above her right eye.

Renamon seemed to know what that meant. "Uh oh…I know that look…"

Jeri knew it, too. "He's back…isn't he?"

Rika answered that question with a scream. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!"

* * *

After the whole debacle on the soccer field, students were all over campus and so were police and campus security. With all the boys in blue out there, the team decided to go off campus to grab a bite to eat. Davis wasn't exactly hungry and neither was Kari, which made it the best time for them to have a moment to themselves. It was too bad that Kari's mind was elsewhere.

"Is a normal college life too much to ask?" Kari grumbled.

Davis shook his head. "I don't know about that one, but this was a great night! Sure, the season opener got crashed, but I think we really came together tonight as a team: DigiDestined and Tamers."

"Doesn't any of this worry you at all, Davis? We don't even know what we're up against right now."

"Doesn't matter," Davis said confidently. "Whatever we're up against, we can take care of it because we're a team. We'll always come out on top, no matter what it is."

Kari giggled. "That's what I really like about you, Davis. You're so…"

"Handsome? Dashing? Cunning?"

"Optimistic."

"Oh. Well…I'm that, too."

After getting through the crowd, Davis and Kari reached the relatively empty dorm building. After all they had been through, this was a great romantic setting and no one knew it more than Davis. He pulled Kari a little closer and put his arms around her waist.

"I always dreamed of holding you like this."

Kari smiled. "You aren't dreaming anymore."

Davis was about to reach over for a kiss, until…

Kari gasped. "TK!"

Davis shifted his gaze to see that TK was just arriving. He looked exhausted…and curious.

"Is there a reason why there are police everywhere?" TK asked.

"We had a Digimon attack," Kari answered. "But we beat him and got the Black Gear off safely. Right now, he's back in the Digital World…as cocky as ever."

"So I guessed I missed out?"

"You should have seen Takato!" Davis exclaimed. "We'll tell you all about it in the morning."

"All right. Where is everybody?"

"Out getting something to eat, except for Guilmon who went for a walk with a cheerleader."

"Huh?"

"We'll talk later."

"Oh…ok."

TK slowly made his way to the door and Davis and Kari kept their eyes on him.

"Are you alright, TK?" Davis asked.

TK looked back and saw Davis holding Kari affectionately. It was starting to sink into Davis that this may have been having a negative effect on him. It may have brought back old memories and it may be hurting him to Kari in someone else's arms.

But to his surprise, TK smiled. "Yeah. I'm just thinking about what a lucky guy you are. Good night."

TK walked into the building and no one was in as much shock as Kari was.

"I…wasn't expecting that," Kari said softly.

"But he's right, you know," Davis replied. "I am a lucky guy."

And with that, Davis finally reached over and kissed Kari. There were no interruptions this time around. They both kissed for nearly a minute before letting go and walking into the building, hand-in- hand.

  


Next Week: We get into Monday, where college life is starting to take its toll. Especially with projects worth 30% OF THEIR GRADE!! Who can handle the stress and who will crumble? Also, whatever happened to our ragtag team of Digimon: Agumon, Gabumon, Hawkmon, and Armadillomon? What happens when Izzy meets with Talley…and YAMAKI?! And two college rivals are about to meet in a soccer game. And for Kazu and Kenta, what better way to show school pride…than a PRANK?! Come see the prank…and the repercussions on the next Digimon: The College Years!

  


Any comments? Then mail me at AmericanCaptor@hotmail.com and don't forget to review below!


	16. OU Pride!

Last Week: The DigiDestined and Tamers teamed up to take care of the stubborn SuperStarmon, but ultimately it was Gallantmon who turned the tide in favor of the good guys. And while there, Izzy was given a message to meet with Talley on Monday, along with her superior. Tai and TK raced in an abandoned lot and things didn't fare well for TK, whose car blew up after a NOS boost went awry. To make matters worse, it all turned out to be for naught, because Catherine wasn't even there! Ryo and Rika cleared the air and there wasn't any bloodshed, so it looks like all's well so far. Renamon and Gatomon had a game of Twister that quickly turned into a strangling session. And Davis finally got to be alone with Kari, where at last he got the kiss he was desperately seeking.

  


**Digimon: The College Years**

Episode 16- OU Pride!

  


A whole new school week was starting and for the students of Odaiba University, it was more than welcome. After the season opener was crashed by SuperStarmon, the student body was agitated and thus, nearly everyone stayed inside their dorms.

It had to be because they had never seen anything like it before, because this wasn't anything unusual for Kazu Shiota. After some of the things he had seen, a flamboyant ultimate-level Digimon under the influence of a Black Gear was practically nothing in comparison.

Evil Digimon and dangerous Digimon under the influence of Black Gears didn't get to Kazu. There was only one thing that had him worrying at this point in his college tenure. It was the history class that had just concluded for the day. But more than the class, what worried Kazu…was the teacher.

Walking through the hall of the liberal arts building, Kazu must have been going pretty slowly, because Kenta quickly caught up to him.

"Did you get the assignment?" Kenta asked.

Kazu nodded. "An eight-page paper! I'm telling you, Miss Asaji still has it in for us!"

"We're barely getting into the second month! How can we already be getting papers that big?!"

"Ok, it's best not to think about it. We need something to get that off our minds."

Kenta sighed. "Why can't an evil Digimon ever attack during class instead of during a soccer game?"

"I ask myself that all the time."

Before that conversation could get anymore stimulating, Kazu and Kenta noticed that everyone was quickly filing out of the building. While that wasn't unusual, what was weird was that everybody seemed to be heading in one direction in a hurry.

Through the whole crowd, Kazu reached over and managed to grab a familiar shoulder. "What's going on?"

Kazu managed to grab the shoulder of Davis, who was running out with the rest of the students.

"Something happened in the gym!" Davis explained.

"What happened in the gym?" Kenta asked.

"I don't know yet," Davis answered. "I was about to go find out."

"Then we'll tag along," Kazu suggested. "Let's go!"

Something curious was afoot at the Odaiba University gymnasium. Like the rest of the student body, Kazu, Kenta, and Davis all wanted to find out what it was, so they headed out and followed the crowd.

* * *

Days, turning into weeks, had passed since they had been sent on this mission. Thus far, they hadn't made a single discovery. It was starting to get to Agumon, who wanted to know what it was that was threatening his world. But like his friends, Agumon wasn't about to give up.

They now found themselves in the lush Koromon Village in the continent of Server, taking a leisurely break. Though rest was the best medicine for the weary, Agumon knew that they couldn't rest for too long.

Hawkmon and Armadillomon ecstatically ate the meals on their plates, while Gabumon just looked out the window. His brain must have been running a mile a minute, wondering just what they were hunting. Agumon, in the meantime, decided to get down to some business with the Koromon present.

"So we're out here looking for someone using Black Gears," Agumon explained. "A human. Have you seen anyone like that around?"

"We haven't seen a human around Koromon Village," one of the Koromon answered.

"Are you sure?" Agumon asked. "This human's been using Black Gears and abducting Digimon. Have you noticed if Digimon have been disappearing?"

The Koromon huddled up and murmured amongst themselves. After a team huddle, the Koromon looked at Agumon and nodded.

"Now that we think about it, there HAVE been Digimon disappearing," the Koromon said. "One of us saw a Cherrymon wander over towards a shadow. I guess now that we think about it…it sorta DID look like a human. And there was something in his leaves. I guess you could say it WAS a Black Gear."

"Where did this happen?"

"Over near the forest, right by Server's desert."

"Hey, guys!" Agumon called out. "We have a break! There may be something outside the village!"

Hawkmon and Armadillomon swallowed what was in their mouths nervously and exchanged glances. Gabumon turned away from the window to look at Agumon.

After days of nothing, it looked like they were finally making some progress. But what would they find when they got out to the forest?

* * *

Kazu couldn't believe what he was seeing. Neither could the rest of the students present. Indeed, something had happened out by the gymnasium. And it was by the dragon statue in front of it.

The statue had been toilet papered. White sheets of quilted toilet paper covered the entire statue and the statue was dripping with ketchup and mustard. And on the arm of the dragon hung a rope that was holding an effigy of the Odaiba Dragons' mascot. And it hardly looked anything like Guilmon.

Everybody could only wonder how anybody could vandalize the statue like this. Who could have done such a thing? Then they got their question answered as they looked behind the statue and saw a banner hanging by the gym. It was a banner that read:

**Odaiba Dragons Fear Shibuya Samurais**

The whole student body was outraged. Everybody was in an uproar over what was now revealed to be a stunt pulled by someone from Shibuya University. The Shibuya Samurais and the Odaiba Dragons shared a very intense rivalry that dated back many years. It was a rivalry that came to a head with the annual Odaiba University/Shibuya University soccer game. And while the rivalry was often fun and competitive, it also had its ugly moments such as this one.

"I can't believe somebody trashed our statue like this," Davis grumbled.

Kazu looked around at each and every student present and saw how upset they were about this. And he saw that they wanted to get back at them.

Kazu pulled Kenta over and whispered into his ear. "I just thought of something. Let's head back." He then tapped Davis on the shoulder. "Uh…we'll meet up with you later. We have…something to do."

Davis blinked. "Uh…ok. See you later."

Kazu dragged Kenta by the arm away from the scene. He couldn't wait to get back to his room, because the gears in his head were turning. And he had a good feeling about this one.

* * *

The computer lab was empty. Izzy bashfully knocked on the door and got no response. Holding Tentomon in his arms, he reached over with his right hand and gently pushed the door open. He slowly wandered inside and reached for the light switch to bring some light into the dark computer lab.

"Don't turn that light on, Izzy."

Izzy stopped right where he was. He recognized Professor Onodera's voice and heard it coming from the corner of the computer lab. He turned his head and saw a shadowy figure in the corner. The faint light barely shone on Professor Onodera as she walked over and shut the door, so nobody else could come on. But Izzy noticed there was a third figure shrouded in the darkness.

"Is that the one you told me about?" the figure asked.

"That's him, sir," Professor Onodera answered. "I had him pegged as a suspect, but after the events of the season opener, I'm convinced he's on our side."

The mysterious figure lit a lighter that was in his hand. The faint brightness it created revealed his face. Middle-aged with dark sunglasses and a head of blond hair.

"You must be Izzy Izumi," he said.

Izzy nodded. "That's me. But who are you?"

The man stood up. "My name is Mitsuo Yamaki. I trust you know Talley Onodera? Everyone here at Odaiba University knows us as two of its new professors. I'm here to tell you that that's all a masquerade."

"I had my suspicions," Izzy replied. "I started to suspect something when I saw the way Professor Onodera attempted to handle the situation at the season opener. It was as if she knew exactly what was going on. Just who are you two, anyway?"

"We're undercover agents," Professor Talley Onodera answered. "We work for the government and used to be part of an operation known as Hypnos. We know all about the Digimon, so there's really no need for you to keep up the act in front of us."

Tentomon sighed in relief. "It was getting hard to keep still like this. I had an itch in my nose."

"You know about the Digimon?" Izzy asked.

"We've known for years," Talley answered. She looked over at Yamaki. "But sir, this one says he isn't a Tamer. He claims to be…"

"A DigiDestined," Yamaki finished for her. "I know all about them."

"You do?" Izzy asked.

"You do?" Talley also asked.

"I've known about the Digimon for a long time," Yamaki explained. "I was one of the first to look into the Highton View Terrace incident, the battle between two giant Digimon. No advances were ever made and the government eventually wrote the whole thing off and never brought attention to it again. It's very similar to many UFO sightings. The best course of action to take is create a cover story and never mention the incident again.

"Then there was an incident that was far too difficult to brush aside. It was the day that an evil Digimon known as Myotismon and his minions invaded Odaiba. It was the first instance in which the DigiDestined were revealed, as they came out to stop the threat and eventually head into the Digital World to handle another disturbance. Unlike previous instances, this was something far too big to be ignored. This was something that didn't go unnoticed by the government.

"Witnesses saw the Digital World appear in the sky after the Myotismon threat was thwarted. They also saw the DigiDestined head into the Digital World and fight the being known as Apocalymon. And our government jumped in to investigate the phenomena. Our government, the military, and scientists throughout the world attempted to find a way into the Digital World. But just as we began to make headway, vital dates in the computers were changed and important information was suddenly lost. None of us understood how the information could just vanish without a trace or how dates could just suddenly change."

Izzy knew. He remembered hearing this story from Gennai. In the years between the defeat of Apocalymon and the emergence of The Digimon Emperor, Gennai spent those years with his allies trying to cover everything up. They secretly changed all the dates on the computers to keep the Digital World hidden.

"The government was ready to give up, but I wasn't," Yamaki continued. "Five years later, the organization known as Hypnos was founded. Shortly after Hypnos was created, Digital Fields began to appear throughout the town of West Shinjuku and Digimon we classified as 'wild ones' began to appear in our world. Remembering such disasters as the Highton View Terrace incident and the Myotismon invasion, I found Digimon to be nothing more than a menace. I wanted to squash the threat once and for all by destroying all Digimon in our world.

"All of our efforts, however, proved to be failures. The only ones able to defeat the wild ones were the Digimon Tamers. Hypnos was a failure and was eventually destroyed by the gargantuan pig Deva, Vikaralamon, along with pretty much all of West Shinjuku. At that point, I began to see the Tamers as allies fighting the good fight and began to see that not all Digimon were evil. That's when the D-Reaper began to emerge and nearly destroy both worlds.

"The Tamers eventually defeated the D-Reaper once and for all and I began to think that we finally had solid evidence of the existence of Digimon and the Digital World. But once again, computer dates were changed and information suddenly disappeared without a trace…just like the last time. And we were back where we started. But I've never forgotten the Digimon. You can erase computers, but not my memory."

"Fascinating story," Izzy said. "If I may ask, what brings you out here to Odaiba?"

"We received an unconfirmed report of a Digimon threat out here in West Shinjuku," Yamaki answered. "It's our belief that the Digimon that have appeared in Odaiba these past few weeks were merely flunkies. We believe there's something else out there preparing for a big invasion."

"And for that you have to pull this charade?" Izzy pointed out.

"There's another reason we're working undercover," Yamaki explained. "We've received word that a human being is the one bringing the Digimon into our world. Someone from this very school. A mole, if you will."

That's when it finally hit Izzy. He looked over at Talley. "That's why you were there that night! You thought *I* was the mole you were looking for!"

"That's right," Professor Onodera admitted. "You were my top suspect since the day we bumped into each other in the computer lab. I recognized the device you dropped as a Digivice. And that's when I figured out that what you carried with you everyday wasn't a stuffed animal."

Tentomon sighed. "I knew I couldn't keep up THAT act all year…again."

"With everything that's happened, there are questions that I want answered," Yamaki said.

Yamaki took out a briefcase and pulled out a small lamp. He plugged the lamp in and turned it on. The bright light shone right at Izzy, nearly blinding him. The intensity of the light led him to believe he was about to be interrogated.

"I want the truth," Yamaki began. "Are you the only DigiDestined on this campus?"

"Why should I say anything?" Izzy demanded. "There's nothing that indicates you're worthy of my trust."

"You can trust us, Izzy," Professor Onodera offered. "We only want to help and we promise not to interject ourselves."

"We do?" Yamaki asked curiously.

"Sir, we aren't here to handle the situation ourselves," Professor Onodera pointed out. "We came here to find out who the mole is. We'll leave the battling to the DigiDestined and the Tamers."

Yamaki groaned. "Ok, agreed. We'll stick to our original objective. But please answer the question, Izzy. Are there other DigiDestined around Odaiba University?"

Izzy didn't know this Yamaki person long enough to determine whether he could be trusted or not, but he did trust Professor Onodera. And that was good enough for him.

"There are many of us here. Four freshmen, one sophomore, two juniors including myself, three seniors, and one fifth-year grad student. Oh, and one transfer student from France is also an International DigiDestined."

"Then we have many allies on our side," Yamaki noted. "Have any of you seen anybody suspicious around campus or any suspicious activity whatsoever?"

"I haven't seen anything," Izzy answered.

Yamaki sighed hopelessly. "No luck. Thank you, Izzy. Before you leave, I must ask a favor of you. Nobody must know that I'm undercover and the same goes for Professors Onodera and Ootori. This must remain our little secret. Tell no one. Not even your friends."

Izzy thought about that. This sort of information would come in handy. But he also recognized some of Yamaki's anxieties. The mole would be less likely to reveal himself or herself if they knew someone from the government was on campus searching.

"I'll keep your secret," Izzy finally said. "And so will Tentomon."

"We'll both keep it hush-hush," Tentomon added.

Yamaki smiled. "Good. Thank you, Izzy. We need nothing further. You can go."

Izzy cautiously got back to his feet and stepped out of the pseudo-spotlight and walked out the door. This whole situation had taken a very interesting turn to say the least. His junior year of college had gotten a lot more interesting.

* * *

Talley watched Izzy walk out the door. The two undercover agents were now by themselves. But there was now one student who knew their secret.

"I hope we did the right thing," Yamaki said.

Talley smiled. "I'm sure we did. You know, sir, he could make a great addition to our team."

"What? You can't be serious."

"No, I mean it, sir. Izzy's far more intelligent that most of the agents we've been working with these past few years. He knows everything there is to know about the Digital World and in the short time I've worked with him, he's demonstrated exceptional skills. He'd be perfect!"

"Since when did you become a scout, Talley?" Yamaki asked curiously.

"Those are just some things I couldn't ignore," Talley answered. "He's a standout kind of guy." Then she looked towards the distance to see Izzy turning the corner. "And he's pretty cute, to boot."

"Cute?" Yamaki repeated. "Talley, I'm surprised at you. He has to be around 21 years of age. You're getting into your late twenties. And he's your TA, for crying out loud!"

"Hey, I didn't say I wanted him for a boyfriend," Talley said innocently. "I just noticed he was cute, that's all." Then she shrugged that off. "Hey, you're getting me off the point! The point I'm making is, he'd be a good fit to be an agent."

Yamaki sighed. "I'll think about it, but I'm not exactly head of recruiting, myself. We aren't here to find new agents, we're here to take down a mole. But I'll be sure to consider bringing it up."

"Thank you, sir."

Talley looked past the glass door one more time, but saw that Izzy was long gone. She really did think he would make a good agent someday and could be valuable to the government. But a boyfriend? That was crazy talk.

At least that's what she would keep telling herself.

* * *

Seeing no one else was around and after seeing the damage done to the dragon statue, Kazu decided there was only one thing to do. So he headed over to Takato and Henry's room and knocked. He didn't stop knocking, even after he didn't get an answer.

"They're probably in class," Kenta pointed out.

Kazu looked around the hallway to see if the coast was clear. Once it was, he decided to call someone else.

"Terriermon, open up! It's us!"

It took a few seconds, but Terriermon turned the knob and opened the door with the aid of one of his long ears.

"You guys need something?"

Kazu pulled Kenta inside and quickly shut the door. This was to be a private conversation.

"Has Henry been here at all?" Kazu asked.

"Nope. He's been in class all day. What's up?"

"Those losers from Shibuya University trashed our dragon statue," Kazu said indignantly. "They had the gall to toilet paper the statue and mock our mascot."

That got someone's ears burning. "Huh? Mock me?"

Kenta thought about how to phrase it. "It's nothing personal to you, Guilmon. They were just mocking the mascot itself."

Guilmon didn't look any more comforted hearing that. Kazu decided to step in and make him feel better.

"Don't worry about it, Guilmon," Kazu grinned. "We're going to make sure they don't get away with it."

Kenta nodded…and suddenly stopped. "What do you mean by that?"

"Kenta, this is a matter of school pride! It's an opportunity for us to defend the honor of Odaiba University! It's an opportunity for us to even the playing field! It's an opportunity for us to get the last laugh on the Shibuya Samurais!"

"It's an opportunity for you to make a name for yourselves," Terriermon cut in.

"That, too. And the best way for us to do all that…it to get back at Shibuya University with our SECOND PRANK!"

Terriermon sweatdropped. "Second prank? After how the first one blew up in our faces?"

"Come on, Terriermon," Kazu urged. "There's a reason we came to tell you about this. You were great the first time around. And we're going to need you to come with us."

"Huh? Where are we going?" Kenta asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" Kenta replied. "We're going to hit them in their home turf. We're going to Shibuya University!"

Kenta's jaw dropped. "You can't be serious!"

"Kenta, I'm surprised you forgot. We had something like this planned for such an occasion. Remember? Prank #63-A?"

Kenta thought about that. "Hmm…I remember Prank #63-A. But isn't Prank #63-A just a little extreme? Technically, we could get arrested for Prank #63-A!"

"Correction: We could get arrested for Prank #63-A…IF we get caught," Kazu pointed out. "But I don't intend for us to get caught. Come on, Kenta. You know we're more careful than that. We can pull this off easily. Don't tell me you're afraid."

"I'm not afraid of a prank. I love a good prank. I just wonder if this might be going a little far. And I'm wondering what'll happen if we do get caught."

"It's not going too far. They have it coming to them. And we don't have to worry about getting caught. Trust me. That's what we have Terriermon for."

"Huh?!" Terriermon piped up. "Just what exactly will I be doing?"

"Kenta, fill Terriermon in on Prank #63-A."

Kenta bent down and Terriermon raised one of his long ears. Kenta whispered the whole twisted plan in the Digimon's ear while Guilmon looked on curiously. Kazu would have liked to tell him about it, too, but there was always the possibility that he could spill the beans to somebody. And this prank was meant to be a total surprise.

Terriermon snickered. "We're really gonna do that?"

"Can't wait to see the looks on their faces," Kazu grinned. "But if we're gonna pull this off, it'll require some heavy lifting. We'll have to take Guardromon with us."

"But it took us hours to get him in the dorm room the first time!" Kenta whined. "We'll have to take him apart again!"

Kazu nodded. "So we'd better get started."

"Alright, I guess we'd better get a head start…"

"Kenta…"

"Oops. I almost forgot. No more bad jokes when taking Guardromon apart. Got it."

There was still one more piece of business to take care of before going off to commit the big retaliation prank. They had to make sure Guilmon wouldn't tell anybody about this.

"Uh, Guilmon? Don't you have practice or something?" Kazu began.

"Not until later. Kazu, what are you guys gonna do?"

"It's a total surprise," Kazu replied. "But we need you to do us a huge favor and keep it a secret. Don't tell Takato, Henry, or any of your cheerleader friends."

Guilmon thought about it. "I don't know…"

"If you keep our secret, I'll bring you back a pizza."

"Ok!"

It was all that was really needed. It was as easy as offering a Scooby Snack to Scooby Doo. So with Guilmon's silence assured, it was time to go where no other sane Odaiba University student would go. And at the end of the day, Kazu and Kenta would make a huge name for themselves.

But first, they needed to go get Guardromon and stuff him in the van.

* * *

There was silence all over. It was highly appropriate, since this WAS a library, after all. Following the intense stress of class, this was the best place to get some studying done. TK heard that Catherine was in here somewhere and he didn't waste any time trying to find her.

TK walked through the first floor, his shoes squeaking on the floor. It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Just as people began to stare at him, TK found who he was looking for. Catherine was sitting alone at a table with her nose buried in a textbook. TK took a seat right across from her.

"Hi," he whispered.

Catherine raised her head from the book. "Bonjour, TK. How did you know I was here?"

"Yolei told me you'd be here. I'm sorry I didn't get to take you to the game Friday night. I'm thinking maybe it was best you didn't see the race."

"Oh yes, I heard what happened to your car. How dreadful."

"Eh, it's ok. I should have a new car by the end of the month."

Someone else took the seat next to TK. "Hi, Catherine."

A vein nearly popped out of TK's head. "TAI!"

TK was immediately greeted with a rounding chorus of shushes.

"TK, we're in a library," Tai whispered. Then he smiled at Catherine. "What happened on Friday, Catherine? I thought we'd be going to the game together. You didn't even see TK's car get blown away…literally."

"Yeah, Catherine. I thought you'd come see us," TK added.

"Gentlemen, I tried to tell you, but you wouldn't let me get a word in edgewise," Catherine explained. "I simply couldn't make it to the lot that night. I had to help out at the game."

Tai remained cheerful. "That's ok. We can always go out tonight."

Catherine shook her head. "Tai…"

"No way, Tai," TK argued. "She's going out with ME tonight. Right, Catherine?"

Catherine shook her head again. "TK…"

"No way, TK," Tai growled. "I asked her first."

"Too bad she wants to go out with me."

"Yeah, right. Like she'd go out with someone whose car is in a million pieces."

"Gentlemen, please," Catherine sighed. "Don't you two think this is getting a little out of hand?"

"What do you mean?" both TK and Tai asked.

"I feel like you two have been fighting over me," Catherine answered. "You're very handsome young men and both of you are wonderful in your own right. But please, don't fight over me. I'm nothing special. I'm just your average French girl."

"If you're the average French girl, then I envy the average French guy," Tai grinned.

"You're above and beyond the average Japanese girl," TK added.

"Be that as it may, you cannot keep fighting over me like this. Especially not now. I have a project worth 30% of my grade. I can't let myself get distracted."

"Beauty and brains," Tai nodded. "I love it!"

"But then again, you two are very sweet," Catherine continued. "So I'll tell you what. We'll have a night out this Saturday. Not really a date, but more like good clean fun for the three of us."

"Three of us?" TK and Tai repeated.

"I'll see you two on Saturday," Catherine went on, ignoring TK and Tai's bewildered looks. "Until then, can you please let me study?"

TK and Tai sighed deeply. "Ok. See you Saturday."

They both got up and started walking out. But halfway out of the library, they suddenly noticed each other and grew irked.

"Who asked you to jump in?" TK demanded.

"I had this planned, TK," Tai shot back. "Nobody asked you to be here."

"You did not have this planned," TK argued. "And even if you did, if this is like any other plan you've ever had, it probably would have blown up in your face. You're making this a lot harder for me and Catherine. Why don't you just stay out?"

"Because she likes me better."

"Oh yeah? We'll see. I say we make our move on Saturday and see who she likes better."

"Sounds good. But let's make the stakes even higher. If she picks me, then you owe me your next paycheck. If she picks you, I'll pay for the repairs to your junk mobile."

"You're on!"

TK and Tai shook hands on this gentlemen's agreement. They were standing by the library door and noticed everyone was staring at them. Including a certain receptionist.

"Guys, I'm glad you two are shaking hands," Jeri muttered dryly. "But can you take it outside? You're in a library."

TK and Tai sweatdropped and stepped outside the door. At least there were plenty of witnesses to this agreement.

* * *

Kari's class was just about finished. While her math class went very slowly, she couldn't say that Dr. Marquez didn't make it challenging. One thing Kari had to admit, this class always had her thinking.

The hour was coming to a close, so Dr. Marquez began to wrap up her lecture.

"Much like anything else in real life, calculus is something that can only be mastered through experience. It's with that in mind that I'd like to assign your essay."

Kari's eyes widened. A written essay in a math class was unheard of. She looked over and saw Rika had the same look on her face. They weren't expecting a written essay in this class.

"I want you all to write a six-page essay on the methods of integration and how you can apply them to real-life situations. It's something I'm sure you can all do. I know you're all smart students."

She made sure to look at Kari when she uttered that last line. Kari didn't really consider herself smart, but she knew she could do this one simple assignment. It didn't sound that hard.

"One more thing," Dr. Marquez continued. "This essay will be worth 20 percent of your grade. I'm sure that won't be a problem for any of you."

A collective gasp filled the classroom. That didn't look to sit too well with anybody. Kari was relatively calm about it, though. It wouldn't be too hard for her. All she had to do was remember not to forget it.

"And your essay is due this Monday."

That announcement didn't make the class feel any better. Kari remained calm about it.

She knew she could do it. All she had to do was remember to start on it soon.

* * *

It was a long, arduous day, but an evil Digimon's work was never done. That didn't please Puppetmon, who always preferred to play. But Datamon was the intense, focused one of the group and he had been at work all day, trying to make something of the recent discoveries made.

"This is boring," Puppetmon complained. "Can't we smash something?"

"Stop being so impatient!" Datamon snapped. "Once I finish, we'll be doing a lot of smashing! But we won't accomplish anything if we don't see what we're up against. But for that, we'd need our Digimon Empress here."

"Did somebody call me?"

The Digimon Empress stood at the entrance of the lair. Puppetmon didn't understand exactly what was going on, but he was always a Digimon of action, anyway.

"It's about time you got here," Datamon growled. "I've been hard at work examining that Digimon that foiled us at the season opener."

Datamon pressed a button and an image appeared on the big screen of his supercomputer. It was a huge Digimon with a cape, armor, and lance. It was the same Digimon the Empress said came to the aid of the others.

"I feel as if you've made an error," Datamon began. "You reported that this one had two voices, and one of them sounded like the Tamer, himself. That must have been because the Tamer was standing at a distance."

"It wasn't an error!" The Digimon Empress protested. "The voice I heard belonged to the Tamer called Takato! It was as if he was a part of Gallantmon! I had never seen anything like it! Not only that, but the brute was extremely powerful. It made short work of SuperStarmon."

"I knew those Tamers had some tricks weren't aware of," Datamon muttered.

"So what?" Puppetmon scoffed. "I could probably pound him into a tin can."

"Don't be foolish, Puppetmon," Datamon warned. "We cannot afford to take chances in this war. We made a bargain and we must make sure to live up to it. And in order to live up to our end of the bargain, we need to know what we're up against."

Datamon reached for a button, but before he could, he was interrupted by a Numemon with a Black Gear on his head.

"Datamon, there's something you need to know."

"Can't you see we're busy?" Datamon demanded. "What is it?!"

"We went on our usual rounds and found four Digimon snooping around Server," the Numemon said. "We recognized two of them as Agumon and Gabumon. They were in the vicinity of the Koromon Village."

"Somebody's onto us," The Digimon Empress sneered.

"I don't like bad news!" Puppetmon whined. He pulled out his hammer. "Puppet Pummel!"

The Numemon became another victim of what was quickly becoming a daily tantrum for Puppetmon. The Numemon faded in a flurry of digital bits. Datamon slapped his domed forehead.

"How many times do I have to tell you to STOP OBLITERATING OUR SERVANTS?! We've lost countless Black Gears because of your shenanigans!"

"You two can argue later," The Digimon Empress cut in. "But let's consider what the Numemon told us. We have unwanted guests snooping around. I think we should give them a welcoming committee."

"Who do you have in mind?" Datamon asked.

The Digimon Empress smirked as she looked over at the Digimon present in the base. She whistled to call one of them over. And the one she called was a massive one.

"I'm proud of this one," The Digimon Empress said. "I just picked this one up the other day. Meet MetalTyrannomon!"

Puppetmon and Datamon looked over in amazement at the cyborg ultimate-level MetalTyrannomon, a form much more dangerous that his other counterparts. This one was completely metallic and very destructive. And with the Black Gear on the back of his neck, he was completely willing to do the bidding of the unholy trio.

"Go down to the Koromon Village and welcome our visitors," The Digimon Empress ordered. "Give them a welcome they'll never forget!"

MetalTyrannomon let out a fierce roar and started stomping out of the base, creating small tremors as he went. The equipment was literally shaking with every step he took.

"That should take care of our guests," The Digimon Empress muttered.

Datamon was still examining the image of Gallantmon on the screen. "This one could be trouble. There must be SOMETHING we can do to neutralize him."

"I say it's time to put the Black Gears to a whole new use," The Digimon Empress suggested.

"We use them to make Digimon do what we want," Puppetmon pointed out. "You're saying there's a BETTER use?"

The Digimon Empress smirked. She obviously had something in mind.

"You bet there is. We use them to do what the old Digimon Emperor once did. I suggest…"

* * *

Once she got back to her room, Kari sat down with her calculus book. She wanted to get this essay out of the way as soon as possible and with Rika at the library and Jeri out…somewhere, there was not better time. So she opened up her book, but…

"Threes?"

"Go Fish."

Kari looked towards her bed to see that there was a game of Go Fish going on between Gatomon and Renamon, another in a long series of competitions those two were having against each other. Renamon sighed and reached for another card.

"Nines?"

Renamon snarled and laid down a nine. Gatomon laid down her last two cards.

"And that makes a pair. I win."

"You got lucky! Best two out of three!"

"You got it, Foxy."

"DON'T call me FOXY!!"

Kari sweatdropped. "Do you two mind? I'm trying to start my homework."

"Sorry, Kari," Gatomon apologized. Then she got an idea. "Ok, Renamon, new game. Something more to your tastes." Gatomon walked over to the refrigerator and grabbed an apple. She gently placed it on top of her head. "Calumon? I think you know what to do?"

Calumon blinked. "Gatomon? Are you sure you want to play this game?"

"Trust me, I know what I'm doing."

Kari watched as Calumon walked to Rika's closet and pulled out a wooden arrow. Kari shrugged off the thought that they'd be playing 'William Tell'. That couldn't possibly be it.

"Ok, Renamon. Try and pick the apple off my head."

"I fail to see the point of this exhibition, cat," Renamon said. "If I pick the apple off your head, I show I'm clearly a better marksman. If I miss, I make a kitty-kabob. What's your stake in this?"

"Renamon, you wouldn't hit me," Gatomon smirked. "I'd be too fast. I'd never let it hit me. Besides, did you think I wouldn't make the stakes a little higher?"

"What do you mean?"

"If you pick the arrow off my head, then I agree to do ANYTHING you want."

Renamon raised an eyebrow. "Anything?"

"Anything! BUT…if you miss, then you'll be cleaning out my litter box for the rest of the school year."

"That's degrading! Not to mention unsanitary!"

"What's the matter, Renamon? Afraid you might miss?"

Renamon responded by snatching the arrow from Calumon. Gatomon confidently stood straight with the apple sitting atop her head. Renamon prepared to toss the arrow javelin-style. After carefully aiming the arrow, she tossed it straight ahead. It looked to be a perfect shot.

But the arrow didn't even make it to its target. A fireball suddenly intercepted it and left the arrow nothing more than smoldering ash. Kari wondered how such a thing could happen, but then she looked under Rika's bed and found her answer. It was Impmon.

"Aw, too bad," Gatomon mocked. "Looks like you missed."

"T-That's unfair!" Renamon cried. "That was a perfect throw! I demand a do-over!"

"Sorry, Renamon. The deal was that you had to hit the apple. Nobody said there couldn't be something like an errant fireball flying around."

Renamon snarled. "You tricked me, cat!"

"Maybe so, but I still have myself a new litter box cleaner. And Renamon? Get every chunk, will you?"

Renamon walked over to the bed and pulled Impmon out by the ear. "You're supposed to be on MY side! Why are you helping HER?"

"Sorry, babe, but I ain't on anybody's side," Impmon corrected. "To me, it's just a matter of who's got more to offer." He walked over to Gatomon and held out his hand. "Ok, let me have 'em."

Gatomon sighed and walked over to Kari's closet. The feline Digimon dug through the closet, tossing out towels and rags as she went along, until she found a box and brought it to Impmon.

"There! A box of twine balls. There are a least a dozen of them."

Impmon chuckled. "All right! Target practice!"

"Y-Y-You sold me out for TWINE BALLS?!" Renamon stuttered.

"Hey, if I can't roast humans, then I gotta roast something, And nothing burns faster than twine."

Renamon stared coldly at Gatomon. "Ok, Gatomon. I'll live up to my end of the bargain. But I'll get you for this someday."

Gatomon just casually shrugged that threat off. She was being awfully carefree about this whole thing. A lot had changed about Gatomon since the day Kari first met her. She remembered when Gatomon used to be a tortured soul, reflecting on the days when she was nothing more than the pawn of Myotismon. Since breaking away from him, Gatomon had learned to enjoy herself a lot more.

And maybe Gatomon wouldn't admit it, but since living with Renamon, she seemed to have a lot more fun. It was like the two were developing a friendship. But of course, Kari wasn't about to bring that up to either of them.

Kari looked out the window and noticed the sun had already set. It was already 8 o'clock and she still hadn't gotten started. No longer feeling focused, Kari decided to put it off for a night. She closed her calculus book.

"I'll start tomorrow."

* * *

Night was starting to fall in the Digital World. It was the best time to investigate what the Koromon had seen out there. Led by Agumon, the faithful squad of four Digimon trekked to the scene of where the Cherrymon had last been seen.

Once they got out there, they found only emptiness. Not a Digimon was stirring that night. That was a good thing, because maybe they could find some clues as to who was tossing Black Gears around.

"Do you guys see anything?" Agumon asked.

"Hey, I found something!" Armadillomon called out.

The other three rushed over to their friend to see what he had found.

"What did you find?" Gabumon asked.

"A fresh bunch of bananas," Armadillomon answered as he held up several golden fruits. "You don't see many bananas this fresh."

"I believe he meant if we saw anything pertaining to our mission?" Hawkmon muttered dryly.

"Oh, that. I saw an empty box over there."

There was a box tipped over sideways towards the area where the forest became desert. The four Digimon wandered over to investigate, but the contents of the box were empty.

"Who carries a box out here in the middle of nowhere?" Gabumon wondered.

"Probably our target," Agumon answered.

"This could just be a coincidence," Hawkmon thought. "Do you think we're making any progress?"

After Hawkmon asked that question, the ground started to shake. The leaves on the trees were rustling and falling with each small tremor. The four Digimon were stuck in their tracks. Then they slowly turned their heads to see that something BIG was coming their way.

"Uh…Agumon?" Gabumon began. "Did that Gazimon tell you that the Digimon he saw with the human was huge and metallic?"

Agumon nodded. "Uh huh. A lot like…"

The Digimon stomped towards them and greeted them all with a roar.

The four Digimon panicked. "METALTYRANNOMON!!"

* * *

The van, now settled in park, was filled with would-be pranksters. Kazu sat in the driver's seat, Kenta was in the front passenger's seat, MarineAngemon was in Kenta's pocket, Terriermon was in the backseat, and Guardromon was in the trunk. They were on a journey to avenge their school.

"Are we ready?" Kazu asked.

"I'm ready," Terriermon answered. "Let's do it!"

Kenta sighed. "MarineAngemon, how did I get myself into this?"

MarineAngemon shrugged. Kenta always stuck with Kazu, no matter how bizarre the circumstance, and being Kenta's partner, that meant MarineAngemon was always finding himself in the middle of these plots…for better or worse.

"Ok, then let's do it!" Kazu smirked. "Prank #63-A is underway! Let's go!"

There seemed to be no other precautions to take. Kazu and Kenta stepped out of the car and Terriermon came out right behind them. Kazu opened the back door and let Guardromon step out. He would be the muscle required for this job.

Now that they were all together, they headed down the parking lot…towards Shibuya University!

  


Next Week: Kazu, Kenta, Terriermon, MarineAngemon, and Guardromon pull Prank #63-A. But…what IS Prank #63-A? And what results from it? Meanwhile, our brave tandem of Digimon face off against MetalTyrannomon. Unable to Digivolve without their partners, can they prevail…or at least escape? As for Kari, she still needs to get started on her essay. But will certain interruptions keep popping up? It's something you won't want to miss! Find out what happens on the next Digimon: The College Years!

  


Any comments? Then mail me at AmericanCaptor@hotmail.com and don't forget to review below!


	17. Grand Theft Samurai

Last Week: The Odaiba Dragons and Shibuya Samurais share an intense rivalry that will culminate with Friday's soccer game, but OU was hit with a barrage of toilet paper and effigies by SU. To retaliate, Kazu and Kenta (with Terriermon, MarineAngemon, and Guardromon) decided to avenge their school by pulling off their next prank. Major assignments are being passed around Odaiba University. Catherine has one of those, yet Tai and TK are still insistent that she choose one of them. All three are set to go out together as 'just friends', but will Tai and TK stick to that? Izzy met with Yamaki for the first time, where Yamaki revealed how long he's known about Digimon and how he's known all about the DigiDestined. And Kari needs to start on a long assignment of her own, but was interrupted by another little competition between Gatomon and Renamon. But that should be the only interruption, right?

  


**Digimon: The College Years**

Episode 17- Grand Theft Samurai

  


Snooping around a strange campus wasn't an easy task, especially this late at night. But Kazu and Kenta were blending in well, MarineAngemon managed to stay hidden in Kenta's pocket, and Guardromon and Terriermon froze in their tracks and pretended to be statues whenever anyone came close. This secret mission was going well and it wouldn't be long before Kazu and Kenta exacted a prankster's revenge on behalf of Odaiba University.

Then they reached their destination. They made it to the Shibuya University's gymnasium. Luckily for them, none of the students were walking around the gymnasium that night and the school's basketball team had just finished practicing for the night. It didn't take the would-be pranksters long to find exactly what they were looking for.

Right by the trophy case, was the large golden statue of the Shibuya Samurai. It was a gold statue of a large samurai, covered in traditional Japanese armor and helmet and holding a sword victoriously in the air.

"Prank #63-A," Kazu began. "Take the rival school's most beloved symbol. So before the big game, we swipe the one symbol that the Shibuya Samurais have the most pride in: the Shibuya Samurai statue. They stripped our school of our dignity, so we'll go ahead and strip them of theirs. Guardromon, you know what to do."

Guardromon walked over and wrapped his arms around the statue in a bear hug, gripping it tightly. With tremendous strength, he picked the statue off the ground and then held it over his head, awaiting further instructions.

"And with that, we're ready to carry it out."

"Kazu, don't you think we'd stand out just a bit with a huge robot holding up the Samurai statue?" Kenta pointed out.

"That's a good point," Kazu muttered. "I don't think we'd be able to hide that thing until we get to the van."

MarineAngemon's head suddenly popped out of Kenta's pocket. "Terriermon."

Kazu looked around. "Hey! He's not a Digimon of many words, but he makes a good point, too. Where's Terriermon?"

****BEEP****

Kazu and Kenta turned around and saw a cart heading their way at full speed. Of course, since it was a cart, that wasn't very fast. Terriermon was in the driver's seat, honking the cart's horn with his left ear as he went. He brought the cart to a halt right in front of Guardromon.

"I found this by the storage bin," Terriermon grinned. "Some moron left the key in the ignition. We can take this back to the van."

"That still doesn't solve our problem," Kenta noted. "Don't you think the statue AND Guardromon might be a little too heavy for this cart?"

"Ok, then I'll have to go with a Plan B," Kazu muttered. He took out his Digivice and a card. With no one watching, he swiped the card through the Digivice. "DigiModify! Hyperspeed activate!" Before Guardromon dashed off, Kazu made sure to issue some instructions. "Get this thing straight to the van. Don't let anything get in your way and DON'T smash into any people!"

"Don't smash into any people and don't let anything get in my way," Guardromon repeated. "You got it, Kazu!"

After receiving those instructions, Guardromon speeded off like a blur. Unfortunately, everyone began to hear loud crashes.

"I'm afraid to ask, but what is that?" Kenta asked.

"Hop on and let's find out," Terriermon said.

Kazu and Kenta got on the cart and Terriermon drove it out of the gymnasium. It didn't take them long to find the source of the sounds. Several walls were smashed through and there was a distinct path of destruction leading all the way to the parking lot. Kazu didn't even want to think about it, but he knew exactly what it was.

Kazu gulped. "This looks bad."

It started to get worse when Shibuya University students started coming out of their dorms to see what was going on. SU Public Safety would be sure to follow. They were about to get caught.

Terriermon inched an ear towards the gas pedal. "Alright, we're busting out of here!"

Terriermon stepped on the gas and the cart was heading off at full speed…which wasn't very fast. But it was fast enough for the cart to drive through all the holes in the walls and all the way to the parking lot before too many people arrived. But Terriermon wasn't really that experienced a driver, so the ride was bumpy to say the least.

The cart drove through the holes in the wall and off the sidewalk onto the driveway, a bump so hard that MarineAngemon nearly bounced out of Kenta's pocket. Terriermon didn't exactly take the speed bumps slowly, either. And when they finally reached the parking lot, the cart didn't come to a slow stop. It came to an abrupt halt when it plowed into a tree.

"Nice one, Terriermon," Kazu groaned. He crawled out of the cart and walked over to Guardromon, who was stationed by the van. "And I'm afraid to ask, but what's with all that destruction out there?"

"You said to get the statue here and not let anything get in my way," Guardromon explained. "So I didn't let a little thing like buildings stop me."

Kazu slapped his forehead. It was yet another mixed-up message that resulted in a huge gaffe. Instead of this being completely inconspicuous, the students were filing out and Public Safety was more than likely on their way.

"Let's get out of here. Guardromon, put the statue on top of the van. Terriermon and MarineAngemon, tie it up."

Kenta reached into the back of the van and grabbed a pair of strong ropes. Terriermon and MarineAngemon each started to tie the statue to the van to make sure it didn't fall out on the way back to Odaiba University. Time was running short, because there were dozens of students stampeding towards the parking lot.

"Uh, that's good enough!" Kazu cried. "Everyone in the van!"

Guardromon took his place in the back and everyone else filed into their usual spots. Kazu fumbled with the key before placing it in the ignition and starting the van. With a clear path ahead of him, Kazu floored it, sending the van straight out of hostile territory. But as they reached the border of Shibuya University and the rest of the world, Kazu and Kenta stuck their heads out of the van windows and shouted back to the crowd.

"ODAIBA U RULES!!"

It was the only calling card anybody really needed. And with this prank in the books, Kazu felt a deep sense of satisfaction. The honor of his school had been avenged and Kazu felt like nothing could go wrong. But then Kenta had to go and open his mouth.

"Uh…Kazu?"

"Yeah, Kenta?"

"Where are we gonna stash this thing when we back?"

Kazu sweatdropped as he stopped at a red light. That was something he hadn't thought about. There was nothing more conspicuous than a large golden samurai statue on top of a van. What would he do with it?

"Uh…"

Silence. Kazu was fresh out of ideas. But someone else's mind was running a mile a minute. A light bulb had appeared over Terriermon's head.

"I know what to do! Just leave it to me!"

Kazu didn't know what Terriermon had in mind and neither did anyone else in the van. But there was a prankster's brain inside the long-eared Digimon's skull. Kazu was more than willing to trust that…especially since he had no ideas of his own.

* * *

Agumon found himself looking forward at a raging beast known as MetalTyrannomon. He didn't forget that the Gazimon told him about a metal beast that walked off with the human and this metal beast fit that description perfectly. And now the metallic brute was staring right at the four rookie Digimon on the ground.

"What do you think he wants?" Armadillomon asked.

MetalTyrannomon aimed for the four Digimon. "Fire Blast II!"

The rookie Digimon ran to avoid the fireball that engulfed several trees in flames.

"Does THAT answer your question?!" Hawkmon cried.

MetalTyrannomon slowly stalked his prey, the four rookie DigiDestined Digimon. They knew that these attacks could potentially cause a gargantuan forest fire. But this looked to be a total mismatch on paper.

"How do we stop him?" Hawkmon asked. "We can't Digivolve without our partners!"

"We don't need to stop him!" Gabumon pointed out. "We just have to take out the Black Gear, wherever it is!"

It didn't take long for Agumon to spot the Black Gear. It was on the back of the metal beast's neck. If Agumon had the proper diversion, he could take it out. But it looked like MetalTyrannomon had a one-track mind. He was bent on destruction. Trying to do something, Hawkmon and Armadillomon attacked.

"Feather Strike!"

"Diamond Shell!"

While it was a valiant effort, the attacks only bounced off the cyborg, ultimate-level MetalTyrannomon. No, rookie Digimon wouldn't get the job done on this night. They would need a plan and Agumon had one.

"Can you guys distract him for us?" Agumon asked.

Armadillomon gulped. "We'll give it our best shot."

Trying to avoid getting stepped on, Hawkmon and Armadillomon headed for a tree while Agumon and Gabumon ran in another direction. MetalTyrannomon paused and looked around, thinking about which pair to chase. Hawkmon made his decision easier by tossing a rock at his head. MetalTyrannomon chased after Hawkmon and Armadillomon, who had climbed up a tree and were waiting for him to come their way.

The tree was a couple of inches taller than MetalTyrannomon, but Hawkmon and Armadillomon were well within striking distance. However, they both looked to be ready. Armadillomon was still holding those bananas he had found. When MetalTyrannomon got close enough, Hawkmon and Armadillomon launched a banana barrage.

"Have a banana split!" Armadillomon shouted.

Squeezing the bananas from the bottom, they squirted out like yellow missiles. They each found their mark right in MetalTyrannomon's eyes, momentarily blurring his vision. If there was ever a time for Agumon to strike, it was now.

"Gabumon! Alley oop!"

Gabumon put his hands in front of him while Agumon gave himself enough running room. The rookie dinosaur dashed forward and jumped into Gabumon's hands, who boosted him into the air. Agumon landed on MetalTyrannomon's back, where he had a wide-open shot.

"Pepper Breath!"

Agumon's Pepper Breath attack went towards MetalTyrannomon's neck, just as he had hoped. It was a direct hit. The Black Gear dissolved into digital data. No longer under evil influence, MetalTyrannomon stopped his rampage and shook off the cobwebs.

Agumon was shrugged off and he fell to the ground. When he raised his head, MetalTyrannomon wandered off alone without even saying anything.

"Hey, wait!" Agumon called out. "We need to ask you some questions!"

MetalTyrannomon didn't listen. He just walked away, which was unfortunate because he could have told them who the human was who tossed that Black Gear in the first place.

"Well, we're back where we started," Gabumon sighed. "Now what?"

"We go back to Koromon Village for the night," Agumon answered. "And tomorrow, we come back and see if we find any more clues."

"I just wonder why we didn't use this?" Armadillomon thought. He held up the box that Gennai had given them.

"We want to use that as an absolute last resort," Agumon replied. "We'll use it if we run into any more trouble."

While the strange box remained unopened, it still emitted a bright glow from within, desperately trying to get out. It may come in handy and would have been useful against MetalTyrannomon, but Agumon had a hunch that this wouldn't be the last threat they encountered.

There would be more threats to come. Agumon just wished they had more clues to go with those threats.

* * *

The next day wouldn't pass fast enough. Davis kept an eye on his watch since the lecture was going slow. Finally, the professor dismissed them. Davis rushed out of the classroom. He was the first one out, but he didn't get far, because he ran into another one of his professors.

"Hello, Davis."

"Oh hey, Professor Yamaki!"

"Davis, you rushed out of my classroom so fast that I didn't get a chance to ask you about your short story."

"My short story? Is something wrong with it?"

"Oh no, on the contrary, it's quite fascinating. I especially liked the part about the little blue reptile, the little green worm, and the flying pig."

Davis sweatdropped. "Oh…I was just…going with whatever popped into my head."

"You've got quite an active imagination, Davis. I'll be keeping my eye on your work. This is good stuff."

"Oh…uh…thanks a lot, sir."

After getting that brief exchange out of the way, Davis kept on going. He couldn't wait to get back to his dorm after a long day of class.

It was just another normal day at Odaiba University. Nothing unusual happened after the scene yesterday involving the random act by some of the Shibuya University students. Things were relatively quiet. The only thing different was that there was some tall structure by the dorm building that was covered in a black tarp. It also had a sign that said 'Wet Paint'.

Yes, things were normal and Davis could only hope things would stay that way as he walked into the freshman dorm building. He made his way through the hall and was about to go off to his room, but he made a quick pit stop at Takato and Henry's room. Davis knocked and waited for an answer. Henry opened the door and Davis noticed Takato sitting on the bed, covering his nose.

"Can't take any chances around you, Davis," Takato muttered.

Davis was about to say something, but noticed something. "Where's Guilmon?"

"He's practicing," Terriermon answered. "Being a mascot for Friday's big game is a huge thing. They've got 'Gil' practicing around the clock."

"It's a wonder he hasn't been caught yet," Takato groaned. "I'm just glad everything's gone as well as it has."

Henry shrugged. "It sure doesn't LOOK like anything can go wrong."

"Henry, let me tell you something from personal experience," Davis cut in. "If you say something like 'nothing could possibly go wrong', then something WILL go wrong."

As if on cue, someone knocked on the door.

"See what I mean?"

"Davis, what are the odds that this is something bad?" Henry asked skeptically.

Henry opened the door and found a hysterical cheerleader with a slip of paper.

"I'm so glad I found you guys!" she cried.

"Hey, I remember you," Takato said. "You're that cheerleader I saw Guil…er…GIL with!"

"I didn't know who else to turn to," she said worriedly. "I remember you're one of his friends. Something awful has happened!"

"What is it?" Takato asked, now concerned.

The cheerleader handed Henry the note as everyone gathered around it, except for Terriermon who was frozen in the stuffed animal position.

Henry read the note. "We know it was you guys who stole the Shibuya Samurai statue. So to get even, we've taken your mascot! He's safe for now, but you won't see him again until you give back what belongs to us and that's the Shibuya Samurai statue! You have until before Friday's game to return the statue! Signed, the Shibuya Samurais. P.S. Shibuya U rules."

"You mean they've kidnapped Guil…er…Gil?" Davis asked.

"I looked everywhere but I only found that note," the cheerleader answered. "I'm so worried! I wonder what they're doing to poor Gil!"

"But what are they talking about?" Takato wondered. "What do they mean when they say we have the Shibuya Samurai statue?"

An 'EEP' came the corner of the room. Everyone turned to look at the corner and only saw Terriermon standing still. Davis looked a little closer to see that there was a sweatdrop on his temple. He was nervous about something.

"We'll…try and make some sense out of this," Henry told the cheerleader. "I'm sure Guil…er…Gil is just fine and I know he'll be ok. I mean, what could possibly happen to him? We'll get in touch with you…uh…what's your name?"

"Kamika," she answered. "Do you really think he'll be ok?"

"I know he'll be just fine," Henry said comfortingly. "We'll be in touch. In the meantime, I'm sure you have homework. We wouldn't want to keep you distracted."

Before Kamika could say anything else, Henry shut the door practically in her face. When the coast was clear, he walked over to Terriermon, who was starting to sweat nervously. He was obviously hiding something.

"Terriermon! Do you know anything about this?"

"Henry, where do you get these wacky ideas?" Terriermon asked innocently. "What makes you think *I* would know anything about this?"

"Maybe it's because you suddenly disappeared yesterday and didn't come back until the middle of the night," Henry pointed out.

"I was just taking a walk."

"A walk where?"

"Uh…um…you know…walking."

"If you don't tell me the truth, I'll send you back home and you can stay with Lopmon!"

"NO! Not that! Ok, I'll talk! We went to Shibuya University last night and took the statue! We were gonna give it back after Friday's game! We just wanted to get back at them for what they did yesterday!"

"Terriermon, who's 'we'?" Takato asked.

With impeccable timing, someone knocked on the door. Davis turned the knob and pulled the door open, revealing the two probable culprits: Kazu and Kenta.

"Hey, guys," Kazu grinned. "How's it hanging?"

Takato knew exactly what to say. "You guys stole a STATUE?!"

Kazu frowned. "Jeez, thanks a lot, Terriermon. Didn't take much to get you to crack."

"We didn't 'steal' the statue," Kenta said innocently. "We just…borrowed it…until after Friday's game."

"No better way to send a message," Kazu added. "Don't mess with Odaiba U!"

The two exchanged a high five. They were awfully proud of themselves. But that's when Henry held up the note.

"Uh…I think they retaliated."

Kazu took the note and started reading it while Kenta looked over his shoulder. When Kazu finished reading it, he stood frozen while Kenta looked around the room.

"Hmm…I knew something was missing," Kenta muttered.

"I think that tops anything we've done," Kazu added. "Too bad. I really thought WE'D come out on top on this one. So, Kenta…anymore bright ideas?"

"Huh?! This was YOUR idea!"

"Do we have to throw around blame? Kenta, that's so childish."

"I don't care WHOSE idea this was!" Takato shouted. "But you guys are gonna give back that statue and get Guilmon back!"

"I think you guys took things a bit too far," Henry said, in a tone calmer than his friend's. "Stealing a school's STATUE? What's the matter with you? And where did you guys find a place to hide something that big, anyway?"

Kazu shook his head. "No clue. Terriermon, what'd you do with the statue?"

Terriermon walked over to the window and jumped out. "Follow me."

Davis felt like a spectator in this whole argument. Everyone followed out the window and Davis just shrugged and followed along. Terriermon led them to the big structure that was covered in the black tarp. Terriermon removed the 'Wet Paint' sign and the black tarp to reveal a giant golden statue. The image of the warrior in armor holding a sword triumphantly in the air meant that this was the Shibuya Samurai statue.

"How did you guys get it all the way out here?" Davis asked.

"That's the awesome thing about having Guardromon around," Kazu said proudly. "He carried that thing like it was a marshmallow."

"That's great, Kazu, but you guys have to give it back," Henry said. "The school's really gonna want Guilmon for Friday's game and there are already people worried about him, like his cheerleader friend. And what if someone tries to take off his 'costume'? Do you guys have any idea what could happen?"

"I'm still on the part about Guilmon's cheerleader friend," Kenta replied.

"Yeah, I can't believe Guilmon could land a cheerleader and Henry's still by himself," Kazu added. "So much for Shinjuku High's Most Eligible Bachelor."

Henry groaned. "Guys, that's not the…………hey, what do you mean by that? I could get a cheerleader if I wanted to."

"Can we discuss that later?!" Takato growled. He angrily turned to Kazu and Kenta. "Give them the statue and get Guilmon back!"

"But that means we'll have to take Guardromon apart again," Kazu whined.

"**DO IT!!**" Takato snapped.

Kazu and Kenta, with their heads hanging down, headed back to the dorms, undoubtedly going to retrieve Guardromon. Terriermon waved with his right ear.

"Good luck, guys!"

"You're going, too," Henry said dryly.

"Huh? Why me?"

"Because you were just as big a part of this as they were. Now march!"

"Aw, Henry…"

"You want to spend the rest of the year with Lopmon?"

"Ok, ok, I'm going!"

Terriermon slowly pouted his way towards Kazu's van. Davis felt like he was watching part of a loving, bickering family.

"Henry, what if they DO try to take the mascot's costume off?" Takato thought.

"They won't find much, that's for sure," Davis answered.

"That's just it!" Takato said worriedly. "That's the whole problem! I don't want them to find out that he's a Digimon!"

This was a potentially dangerous situation. With the recent outbreak of menacing Digimon, this whole thing could turn sour really quick if Guilmon was discovered.

It was up to Kazu and Kenta to make things right again.

* * *

After getting through another day, Kari headed back to her room. Just like the day before, there was nobody around (no humans, anyway) and she had the room all to herself. So just like the day before, she placed her calculus book on her desk and opened it up. She was ready to get started on her paper without anymore interruptions.

She ignored Renamon, who was grumbling as she cleaned up Gatomon's litter box. She didn't want to let anything else distract her. But it wasn't meant to be on this day, either, because just as Kari was about to type her first word, someone knocked on the door.

Kari shut her eyes. "It's open."

The door slowly opened. It was much like the way Rika sometimes opened it. Kari was thinking it was probably her, but how could she have forgotten to take her key? Kari turned around and saw that it actually wasn't Rika. It was someone else.

"Hey, I remember you."

It was Ryo Akiyama, with a light-hearted smile on his face. "I guess I came at a bad time. Is Rika around?"

"Oh…I think she went to grab a bite off campus. I'm sorry you missed her."

"It's ok. I guess I can always catch her some other time."

"Wait! Don't leave! I'd hate to think you came all the way out here for nothing. Have a seat."

Ryo stepped in and looked around. He waved as soon as he saw Renamon. "Haven't seen you around." He looked a little closer. "Are you…?"

"Don't ask," Renamon snarled.

Ryo shrugged and pulled up a chair to sit down. He sat right across from Kari and the two were looking at each other face-to-face.

"I heard about you," Kari began. "Ken mentioned you a few times. When I heard Rika talk about you, I really didn't think it was the same guy. Ken said you were lost in the Digital World."

"I was for a long time," Ryo explained. "I was lost after engaging in a fierce battle with an evil Digimon known as Millenniumon. After he was beaten, there was no way for me to get home. But I found my way back home when I met the other Tamers. I'm sure Rika's told you about our adventures there?"

"She mentioned a lot about you," Kari giggled. "Well…she never actually mentioned your name, but she talked a lot about you. I think she really missed you…but it sounded like she really hated you, too. You know, if I ever asked her about it, she's probably shut me up. Maybe I can ask you."

"You want to know about me and Rika?" Ryo smirked. "Rika was one of the first Tamers to find me out in the Digital World. Kazu and Kenta recognized me. They saw me as a legend. Rika wanted to test that, so we played a round of the Digimon Card Game. Rika was known as the Digimon Queen around West Shinjuku, because there was nobody who could beat her. Then…I actually beat her."

"She never told me that."

"It's because she'll always deny it. But ask Kazu and Kenta. They were there. They saw me beat Rika, fair and square. You should have seen the look on her face. She couldn't believe someone actually beat her. I've been giving her rematches for years and she's never been able to win. You know, it's kinda funny. She looks at the way I play and the way I go about life and she just gives me attitude because she thinks I'm perfect. Has that ever happened to you?"

"Oh, you bet!" Kari nodded. "For some reason, everybody calls me a 'Ms. Perfect' and I can't understand why."

"That shouldn't bother you, Kari," Ryo smiled. "They're probably just jealous. At least that's what I get out of Rika."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I think I get attitude from Rika because she's probably jealous. Don't tell her I said that, though, because she'll never admit it. I think the same goes with you, Kari. A lot of people who give you grief over being perfect are probably just jealous. They'd love to be a Kari."

Kari couldn't help but laugh. "I think there's only room in this world for one Kari."

"Just like there's only room in this world for one Ryo."

"I should hope so. If there were more of you, then Rika would go insane."

Kari and Ryo both had a good laugh at that one. In fact, it went on for a good while. Kari hadn't laughed like that in weeks. After all that's happened, it was nice to laugh again.

Ryo caught his breath. "So do you and Rika get along well?"

"Well…we've had our share of tiffs."

"I could tell," Ryo said. "I know Rika and she doesn't really like anyone she thinks is perfect. And you sure look like one of those girls."

Kari wondered what he meant by that. "Hey…"

"But I could be wrong. Maybe you aren't the 'Ms. Perfect' you think you are. Then again, maybe I'm right. I'd like a chance to find out. Why don't we have lunch tomorrow? We can get to know each other a little better."

Kari thought about that. Having lunch with a guy she hardly knew? She didn't know if it was a good idea. After all, she was dating someone else. On the other hand, it was just lunch. There was nothing wrong with having lunch with him. It seemed harmless enough.

Kari smiled. "I'd like that."

"Cool. I'll call you. Trust me, I know the number."

"Let me give you my cell phone number, just in case."

Kari grabbed a piece of scratch paper and wrote her cell phone number on it. As she handed it to Ryo, someone walked in the door.

It was Jeri, who had her eyebrow raised. "Am I interrupting anything?"

"Nothing at all, Jeri," Ryo said cheerfully. "I was just leaving since it's getting late. If you see Rika, tell her I said hi. Kari, I'll see you tomorrow."

Ryo walked out of the room, giving Renamon one more wave as he left. Kari smiled and waved cheerfully as he left. Jeri, whistling innocently, just took a seat on her bed. Kari knew exactly what she was thinking and what she must have thought she saw. Jeri reached under her bed and came back up with her sock puppet in her hand.

"I didn't see a thing," Jeri said innocently.

"Me neither," the puppet added.

Kari frowned. "Jeri, this wasn't what it looked like."

"Oh…of course it wasn't. I didn't think that at all. Heh…"

"We're just having lunch tomorrow. It's no big deal."

Jeri shook her head. "Of course it isn't. No big deal at all. It's just…"

Silence.

"What is it?" Kari asked.

Jeri hesitated. "Nothing…"

Something obviously had Jeri a little edge about this whole thing. Kari knew it was just lunch. Nothing could possibly come of that. Besides, she was dating Davis. Why would Jeri try and make a big deal out of this? Was it because he looked so charming and seemed like a really cool guy? Or was it something that was slipping Kari's mind?

She immediately stopped thinking about that when she noticed her calculus book. Once again, Kari had gotten sidetracked and hadn't even started on her essay. No longer feeling the motivation to get started, Kari closed her book for another day. It was another opportunity that passed her by.

"I'll start tomorrow."

* * *

"I can't believe I'm out here this late."

Kazu said that for about the millionth time as he brought the van to a stop. He was at the lone intersection a few blocks away from Shibuya University, empty as it usually was at this time of night. It was the perfect place to make an exchange.

The letter specified that this was the place where the Samurais wanted to make the trade. The trip there was quiet, with the exception of Terriermon turning up the radio. But the radio went off and all went silent when they reached their destination. They were all alone there and an ominous atmosphere was present. No one knew what to expect. It was too quiet, so Kazu had Guardromon unload the statue from the top of the van.

After the statue was placed on the ground, another van pulled up to the area. Every door of the van, including the back door, opened and about nine muscular guys came out. They were all wearing Shibuya Samurai jackets. Then someone emerged from the driver's side door. It was a slender young man with long, greasy black hair, wearing a Shibuya Samurai sweater.

"I am Nicho," he said in a Spanish accent. "These are nine members of our school's intramural rugby team. You must be the losers who thought you could steal our school's statue and get away with it. But as you can see, I am far too clever for you."

"How clever do you have to be to steal our mascot?" Kazu said bitingly.

"Grumble all you want, but the fact is, we're getting our statue back, so my methods are effective. Now I trust you have our statue?"

"Right there," Kenta pointed.

Nicho clapped once. "Amigos?"

The SU intramural rugby squad walked over to the statue. Two of them pushed it over while the other seven broke its fall. Each of the nine rugby players held up a piece of the statue and walked it towards the van, showing no signs of struggle or fatigue. They placed it up on top of the van and each piled back in. Once they had the statue back in their possession, Nicho headed back to the van without hesitation.

"Hey, where's our mascot?!" Kazu demanded.

"I said you would see him again, and you shall," Nicho said calmly. "You will see him…AFTER Friday's game!"

Nicho leapt into his car and quickly turned the key. Before Kazu or Kenta could stop him, Nicho sped off and the van was gone. But he left them with the ever charming words:

"SHIBUYA U RULES!!"

Kazu and Kenta were left in the dust. They no longer had possession of the Shibuya Samurai statue, but they still didn't have Guilmon back.

Terriermon poked his head out of the driver's side window. "We got doublecrossed!!"

Kenta gulped. "Takato's not gonna like this. And you know how he gets when he gets REALLY MAD!"

Kazu added to that gulp. Takato at his angriest was NEVER a pretty sight. He remembered what happened when Beelzemon killed Leomon and how it unleashed a fury never seen in Takato before. And something like losing Guilmon would be more than likely to bring out that anger again.

If this wasn't already a long night, it was sure to be now.

* * *

A villain's work was never done and that didn't sit well with Puppetmon, who always preferred the pleasures of playtime. So he kept his distance from the workaholics known as Datamon and The Digimon Empress as they tinkered with a design on the screen of the giant supercomputer.

"Did he look like this?" Datamon asked.

"The armor looked a little smoother than that," The Digimon Empress answered. "Plus, the cape was a little wider than that."

The former Digimon Emperor, Ken Ichijouji, once created a monstrous Digimon known as Kimeramon. Arukenimon once used Dark Spirals to create BlackWarGreymon. The Digimon Empress and Datamon were now taking a page from their book and creating a Digimon of their own, based on the powerful one that had saved the day at the season opener. Only this time, they were using most of the remaining Black Gear replicas.

"Are you sure about this?" Puppetmon whined. "These are the last Black Gears we have. We could control an entire army with them."

The Digimon Empress chuckled. "The one we're making is more powerful that a hundred armies. With this template and the Black Gears, we'll have the ultimate Digimon."

"Clear the way!" Datamon shouted.

He pressed a button and the process was underway. Every machine in the base went haywire and started smoking. The largest one emitted a huge light and the Black Gears all rose into the air. The light blinded everyone in the room temporarily.

The light soon faded and the smoke had all cleared. All that remained in the middle of the base was a large Digimon, who looked much like Gallantmon. He held a shield and lance that were just as massive. But his armor and shield were a dark black. The cape and shoulders were a neon blue.

"Whoa, now THAT'S a Digimon!" Puppetmon said in amazement. He was obviously impressed.

The Digimon Empress laughed. "Behold! Our greatest creation: ChaosGallantmon!"

ChaosGallantmon was an intimidating sight. A fierce scowl could be seen through his helmet. He didn't move a single inch, but the sheer aura that surrounded him was something to behold. His large lance pointing in the air, his neon blue cape covering his back, his shield reflecting the rays of darkness; this truly looked like the ultimate Digimon.

"So what do we do with him?" Puppetmon asked. "I'm not sharing my toys with him!"

The Digimon Empress smirked. "I take him out for a test drive…so that the Digital World can see what they'll be up against if any dare to oppose us."

"The Dark One will be pleased with this one," Datamon commented. "If ChaosGallantmon can obliterate our enemies, it'll give him the chance to have the Child of Light all to himself."

"We get our just desserts when that happens, right?" Puppetmon asked.

The Digimon Empress nodded. "You get the human race, Datamon gets glory beyond belief, and I get the Digimon as my slaves. Sounds like a fair trade." The Digimon Empress walked over to ChaosGallantmon and snapped her fingers. "Lift me up."

ChaosGallantmon reached over with his hand and picked her up. The Digimon Empress was placed on his shoulder as he stood up and prepared to receive his orders. Unlike the enigmatic BlackWarGreymon of days past, ChaosGallantmon looked to be totally obedient.

The Digimon Empress pointed forward. "Let's go!"

ChaosGallantmon walked to his right…to the groans of Datamon.

"The exit is THAT way!"

"I knew that!" The Digimon Empress's voice said from the distance. "About face!"

ChaosGallantmon did a 180 and headed out in the right direction. Things were looking up for the villains. With this new living weapon on their side, the DigiDestined and Tamers wouldn't know what hit them.

* * *

After getting back to the friendly confines of Odaiba University, Terriermon made sure to keep a low profile. He separated from Kazu and Kenta and decided to go back in through the window. But he took his sweet time doing it, because he was in no rush to get back and get the third degree from Henry…or worse, Takato.

He got to his window and stayed outside momentarily, hoping to delay the inevitable. He knew he'd have to face the music eventually. He was as much at fault as Kazu and Kenta.

Luckily, though, Kazu and Kenta arrived first. Terriermon could hear Kazu's loud voice even from outside the window. He couldn't make out what Takato or Henry were saying. Their words were inaudible. But Takato suddenly got a lot louder.

**"WHAT?!?!"**

Terriermon flinched. Takato was obviously in a bad mood. It was understandable, though, considering the circumstances. Guilmon was stuck on a strange campus and if he was exposed, things could only get worse. This was a very volatile situation.

Everything seemed to be hopeless. Without the Shibuya Samurai statue, there was no bargaining tool to get Guilmon back. The only way to get him back…was to take him.

A light bulb appeared over Terriermon's head. He had the idea he had desperately sought since he saw Nicho run off with the statue. Terriermon would return to Shibuya University. But it wouldn't be with Kazu and Kenta or Guardromon and MarineAngemon. He had something else in mind. He would go back to enemy territory with a totally new team.

Terriermon trotted down towards another window. He tapped that window with one of his long ears and then peeked inside. The room was empty…except for three figures. One of them came over and opened the window.

"What's up, Terriermon?" Veemon asked.

Terriermon sighed. "I need your help."

  


Next Time: Terriermon returns to Shibuya University with Veemon, Patamon, and Wormmon. And this time, they aren't going back until they have Guilmon back. But do they even have any idea what they're doing? As for poor Kari, she's still trying to start her essay, but do interruptions keep popping up? Izzy thinks about the encounter he had and decides to start mole hunting…but do you really think he'll go it alone? And Ken's still in a bad predicament with his relationship with Yolei hanging by a thread. Can he make things better…with a little help from Davis? Find out on the next Digimon: The College Years!

  


Any comments? Then mail me at AmericanCaptor@hotmail.com and don't forget to review below!


	18. Rescue 411

Last Week: Kazu, Kenta, Terriermon, MarineAngemon, and Guardromon slipped into Shibuya University and pulled off their next big prank, stealing the school's hallowed statue. But the prank backfired when the Shibuya Samurais retaliated by stealing the OU mascot, GUILMON! Kazu and Kenta arranged a trade but were doublecrossed by a greasy-haired SU student named Nicho, who took the statue and ran without returning Guilmon. Now Terriermon has arranged a rescue operation and has recruited some helpers. Agumon, Gabumon, Hawkmon, and Armadillomon were able to withstand the onslaught of MetalTyrannomon and destroy his Black Gear while back in the villains' base, a new overpowering force was created: ChaosGallantmon! Kari, in the meantime, was still trying to get started on her essay, but was interrupted by an unexpected visitor, Ryo Akiyama. After they got to know each other, they agreed to have lunch together. No worries there, since it's just lunch…isn't it?

  


**Digimon: The College Years**

Episode 18- Rescue 411

  


Terriermon held the window open with his right ear, giving him space to walk in. He looked around and saw that only the Digimon were around. That was good enough for him. He didn't need humans getting mixed up in this anymore.

"What's going on?" Veemon asked.

"I need you guys to help me," Terriermon began. "We have a big problem!"

"Problem?" Patamon piped up. He stuck his head out from underneath the bed. "What's the problem?"

"I tried to pull another prank with Kazu and Kenta and it totally blew up in my face," Terriermon explained. "I guess you guys probably aren't surprised about that one, but the point is that Guilmon's stuck somewhere in Shibuya University and I need help to get him back. You guys are my best hope!"

Wormmon stuck his head out from the dresser drawer. "Terriermon, It sounds like we're your only hope."

"We can sneak into their campus and get him out before any of them see us," Terriermon proposed. "I really need guys who can work as a team, like you guys. And to be honest…well…I can't do it alone. So what do you say?"

"I guess we could help," Veemon agreed. "No harm in that, right guys?"

Patamon wasn't willing to give in without one condition. "Only if he promises never to pull a prank on US again."

"I thought we settled that," Terriermon growled.

"Now that I think about it, you never DID make that promise," Wormmon pointed out. "Say that you'll never pull a prank on us again like you did that first time we met."

Terriermon let out an exasperated sigh. "Fine! I'll never pull a prank on you guys again! Now will you help me?"

Veemon nodded. "Ok, we're in!"

Terriermon scratched his chin with his right ear. "Now the only real problem we might have is getting down there. We've got no means of transportation. And I'm already on thin ice with Henry."

"Don't look at me," Patamon sighed. "TK has his car in the shop. He said something about a racing accident."

"I think TK borrowed Ken's car tonight," Wormmon added. "He can't keep working as a pizza delivery boy without a car, after all."

Veemon ran over to Davis's dresser drawer and opened it up. He tossed out several socks and boxers until he came up with a key.

"Davish has an extra key! We'll take his car!"

"Problem solved!" Terriermon said cheerfully.

"Do any of us even know how to drive a car?" Wormmon pointed out.

"I'll do it," Terriermon volunteered. "I've seen Henry do it a million times. How hard could it be?"

"So when do we leave?" Patamon asked.

"We leave tomorrow while everybody's in class," Terriermon answered. "And we don't come back until we find Guilmon."

For Terriermon, this wasn't about a prank that backfired anymore. This was about a rescue mission. It was time for him to get his friend back. And he would do it tomorrow.

* * *

As the sun began to rise, Server's desert didn't get any cooler. Agumon suddenly noticed that he and Gabumon were the only ones still walking. Hawkmon and Armadillomon had fallen over and were leaning on a crag.

"I feel like we've been wandering the desert forever," Armadillomon panted. "How long has it been?"

"Twenty minutes," Hawkmon replied dryly.

Armadillomon sat up. "It can't seriously be twenty minutes."

"Get up, you guys," Agumon said. "We've got to keep going."

"Just what exactly is it we're looking for?" Hawkmon pointed out. "We're out here in the middle of nowhere."

"I agree, Agumon," Gabumon added. "We've followed our leads and they haven't led us anywhere. We're stuck in the desert now."

Agumon sighed deeply. "I thought we were so close to finding something. But we're pretty much back where we started, aren't we? Some squad we are. I don't think this is what Gennai had in mind for us."

Armadillomon tried to put a positive spin on this. "It can't be all bad. Maybe we'll get lucky and something will come to us."

"You looking for something like me?"

Everyone looked around. That wasn't any of them. They desert looked empty. There was nobody out there. Then they finally looked up to see someone atop the crag. From the distance, the figure had a very familiar appearance.

"The Digimon Emperor?" Hawkmon guessed.

"Close, but way off," the figure said with a feminine voice.

"It's a girl!" Gabumon exclaimed.

The girl jumped down and out of the shadows. She landed right in front of the four Digimon and lashed a whip to keep them at a distance. She had the same attire, cape, whip, and dark sunglasses as the old Digimon Emperor, something that brought a chill to Agumon. But this girl also had long, blond hair that blew in the wind.

"I think it's time I finally showed myself to you interlopers," she said. "I am The Digimon Empress and I don't like you snooping around what will soon be MY Digital World."

"You're the one tossing Black Gears around, aren't you?" Gabumon demanded. "How dare you enslave helpless Digimon!"

The Digimon Empress chuckled. "It's true. I have been wandering this world, throwing around Black Gears, but you'll be happy to know that I won't be doing that anymore."

Agumon blinked. "Uh……that's good to hear."

"I no longer require Black Gears. The ones in this box are the last batch I have. You see, I have all the Digimon I need. But you know something? It was fun to stay behind the scenes while everybody wondered how Digimon were emerging in the real world. And I'm sure you're wondering why I decided to reveal myself to you."

"Actually, that IS a pretty good question," Armadillomon mused.

"I didn't want you're whole journey to be pointless," The Digimon Empress said. "I figured, you might as well find the information you want…before your imminent destruction. So this is me. Too bad you won't be able to tell anyone what you saw."

"Oh yeah?" Gabumon dared. "Who's going to stop us?"

The Digimon Empress pointed to the sky. "He is."

Something else came running off the crag and daringly leapt in the air. The rising sun's rays reflected off his dark cape. It was an armored knight equipped with a lance at the right arm and a huge shield at the left.

"I'd like you to meet ChaosGallantmon, the Digimon that will blast you into oblivion. So long, interlopers. ChaosGallantmon, destroy them!"

Agumon, Gabumon, Hawkmon, and Armadillomon took a step back. This fearsome knight was stepping towards them and prepped his lance for an assault. The four rookies were in big trouble. They couldn't Digivolve without their partners.

* * *

Veemon feigned being fast asleep. He was awake, but he didn't want anyone else to know that, especially Davis. Davis and TK were scrambling to get their books for class while Ken had gotten up early and was already out getting breakfast.

"I can't believe I overslept!"

"It's your fault, TK! You broke my alarm clock!"

"No I didn't! It broke when you threw it at my face!"

"How many times do I have to say I'm sorry? I'm not used to having someone on the other side of the room when I throw my clock!"

The argument went on as Davis and TK ran out of the room in a hurry. With them out, Veemon finally opened his eyes. And just as he did, someone tapped on the window. It was Terriermon. Patamon came out from under the sheets and opened it up.

"Are we ready to go?" Terriermon asked.

Wormmon came out from the dresser drawer. "I'm ready to go. How about you guys?"

Patamon nodded excitedly. "Let's do it!"

Veemon dug through Davis's drawer and pulled out the extra car key. "I've got the key! Let's go!"

The three DigiDestined Digimon climbed out the window and carefully ran along the shrubs to stay hidden amongst the crowd of students that were heading to class. It didn't take them long to safely make it to the parking lot, where there were few students. Then they found Davis's car, a white 1999 Honda Civic.

Once the coast was clear, they all ran to the car where Veemon put the key in and opened the door. The Digimon filed into the front seat while Terriermon stood on the driver's seat.

"Hmm…I'm a little short. Anybody want to give me a hand?"

Veemon positioned himself on all fours on the driver's seat to give Terriermon a boost. Patamon positioned himself by the gas pedal while Wormmon placed himself by the brake.

"Ok, give it some gas! I'm about to start the car!"

Patamon gently pressed the gas pedal while Terriermon turned the key with his right ear. The car started as the engine purred like a kitten. With no car parked in front of him, Terriermon shifted into drive.

"Gas!"

Patamon pressed down on the gas pedal and Terriermon started driving out…very erratically.

"Brake! No, give it some gas! No, brake! Gas! Brake!"

Veemon felt every bump in the road. This would be a long trip.

* * *

As ChaosGallantmon lunged forward, the four rookie Digimon scattered. This Digimon was much bigger than they were and being stuck at rookie level, Agumon knew their chances of coming out on top were slim to none, especially since this Digimon had no Black Gear at all. This was an evil Digimon.

However, as big as this Digimon was, Agumon also realized that the numbers were on their side. There was four of them and only one of him.

"Give it everything you've got, guys! Pepper Breath!"

"Blue Blaster!"

"Feather Strike!"

"Diamond Shell!"

The four Digimon attacked. It did no good. Each attack harmlessly bounced off the black armor of ChaosGallantmon.

"That won't do any good," The Digimon Empress smirked. "ChaosGallantmon is a Mega Digimon. You rookies don't stand a chance. You might as well give up and take your execution bravely."

"We won't give up!" Agumon cried.

The Digimon Empress sighed tediously. "Have it your way. ChaosGallantmon?"

The big ChaosGallantmon aimed his lance. "Dark Saber!"

ChaosGallantmon attacked and everyone just barely managed to get out of the way. When the attack hit the desert sand, it blew up into a crater. Seeing no other option, the rookies all ran towards a nearby cave to safety.

"We can't stand up to that Digimon!" Hawkmon exclaimed. "That's more powerful than anything I've ever seen!"

"But we can't just run away!" Gabumon said bravely. "We can't let her get away with what she's doing to all those Digimon! We have to stay and fight!"

A light bulb suddenly appeared over Armadillomon's head. "We've still got this doohickey."

Armadillomon held up the box that Gennai had given them. It was still glowing from within.

"But Gennai told us to use that in an emergency," Agumon pointed out.

As soon as he said that, the cave rumbled as one of ChaosGallantmon's attacks struck the rocks by the entrance. The ground started rumbling.

"I believe THIS would qualify as an emergency!" Hawkmon cried.

"So should I open the box?" Armadillomon asked.

"YES!!!"

"You got it!"

Armadillomon opened the box Gennai had given them and two powerful rays of rainbow-colored light emerged from it. They shot straight up before landing on Agumon and Gabumon. And the light gave them the extra help they had been seeking.

****Agumon…Warp Digivolve to…WarGreymon!****

**Gabumon…Warp Digivolve to…MetalGarurumon!**

The power from the box had given Agumon and Gabumon the power to Warp Digivolve…without the aid of their partners. The sides had suddenly evened up. The attacks from ChaosGallantmon continued to strike by the cave. With added punch and firepower, the two Mega Digimon ran out of the cave and saw ChaosGallantmon standing tall and fearless.

Hawkmon walked out, trying to shake something out of the box. "HEY! What about us?!"

"Hmm…I guess it doesn't affect us," Armadillomon thought.

"Doesn't matter," WarGreymon said. "We've got more than enough to take care of this guy."

The Digimon Empress chuckled. "I think not. You may have reached the Mega level by some fluke, but you still don't stand a chance against ChaosGallantmon!"

ChaosGallantmon charged forward, holding his lance out. WarGreymon tried to stand up to him, but ChaosGallantmon swung his saber and sent him flying until he hit the wall by the cave. MetalGarurumon rushed forward, but ChaosGallantmon held his lance out. MetalGarurumon bit the lance and had a firm grip on it, but ChaosGallantmon just swung the lance and sent the metallic Mega flying by his fallen ally. The two DigiDestined Megas briefly regrouped.

"Let's try this again," WarGreymon muttered.

WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon circled ChaosGallantmon as the fearsome knight didn't even move an inch. While they stared each other down, Hawkmon and Armadillomon began to make their move. They saw that this whole thing distracted The Digimon Empress, so they slowly walked towards the box of Black Gears.

Hawkmon grabbed the box and started flying off. The Digimon Empress suddenly noticed what was going on and tried to retrieve the box. She didn't get far, because Armadillomon tripped her up before she could reach it. Hawkmon took the box in the air and got WarGreymon's attention.

"WarGreymon! The Black Gears!"

WarGreymon saw Hawkmon in the air holding up the box and knew that this was his chance to eradicate the menace for good. Hawkmon tossed down the box, giving WarGreymon a midair target.

"Terra Force!"

WarGreymon's giant Terra Force fireball incinerated the entire box of Black Gears upon immediate contact.

The Digimon Empress pounded a fist into the dirt. "My Black Gears! You'll PAY for that! ChaosGallantmon, make them pay for that!"

ChaosGallantmon slowly stalked WarGreymon until MetalGarurumon came to attack from the side.

"Metal Wolf Claw!"

The cold Metal Wolf Claw nailed ChaosGallantmon in the side of his rib and sent him crashing by the wall. WarGreymon looked to finish him off while he was stunned.

"Terra Force!"

The gigantic fireball headed right towards ChaosGallantmon and looked to hit directly. An explosion erupted and a large number of rocks hanging above fell in a tremendous avalanche. There seemed to be nothing left, except for a pile of rocks. With nothing stirring and silence filling the air, it looked like the two DigiDestined Megas had won.

But then an arm rose out of the rubble.

WarGreymon couldn't believe it. "Impossible!"

The Digimon Empress chuckled. "You can't beat him THAT easily!"

ChaosGallantmon rose out of the rocks, singed but otherwise in good condition. He aimed his lance at WarGreymon.

"Dark Saber!"

The electrical Dark Saber attack hit WarGreymon right in the chest and sent him down. He then tossed his shield at MetalGarurumon. MetalGarurumon caught the shield like a frisbee…but dozens of electrical jolts surged through his body and he collapsed. ChaosGallantmon calmly walked over and grabbed his shield from MetalGarurumon and casually toss him right beside WarGreymon. But he wasn't done.

"Dark Saber!"

ChaosGallantmon's Dark Saber attack struck the rocks above the two DigiDestined Megas and sent them crashing down in a tremendous avalanche. WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon soon found themselves buried in a rocky tomb with no way out.

* * *

This was more than a suitable demonstration. The Digimon Empress had witnessed ChaosGallantmon demolish WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon, two of the toughest Megas there were. A point had been proven. Her side was now unbeatable.

There was still the matter of finding the other two cowardly rookies who had destroyed the remaining Black Gears. But they were nowhere in sight. They had obviously fled the scene after witnessing such an awesome display of power.

"Our work is done," she muttered. "Let's go. I've got a little business back in the real world."

ChaosGallantmon reached out and perched her up on his shoulder. They left the scene, convinced that they had finished off the DigiDestined Digimon.

* * *

Students walked around everywhere as they were obviously either in between classes or having their break. Shibuya University was a very big campus and Terriermon didn't even know where to start searching for Guilmon. Neither did any of his partners. All they could do was stay hidden behind a tree in the parking lot.

"So where should we start?" Veemon asked.

"I think the best thing we could do is split up," Terriermon suggested. "We'll each go around looking for Guilmon in a separate area of this…"

"Dibs on the cafeteria!" Patamon piped up.

"Dang!" Terriermon grumbled, snapping his fingers out of frustration. "Ok fine, I'll take the dorms and…I don't know…you two look somewhere else. But no matter what happens, we report back here in two hours."

"What if we get caught?" Wormmon pointed out.

"You guys won't get caught," Terriermon replied. "If anybody sees you, just fall over and do the 'stuffed animal' thing. They'll think you're a lost toy or something. So are we all set?"

Patamon nodded. "Let's do it!"

"And we don't come back until we find Guilmon!" Veemon added.

Terriermon took a step forward. "Then let's split up!"

The four Digimon each ran in a separate direction. The search for the missing Guilmon had begun. But finding him in enormous Shibuya University would be like finding a needle in a haystack.

And Terriermon knew he didn't have much time. It wouldn't be long before Davis noticed his car was missing.

* * *

Patamon took a peek through the window to see hundreds of Shibuya University students sitting down to eat in the school's cafeteria. He saw no sign of Guilmon in there, but he couldn't exactly make anybody out among the large crowd. Of course, he couldn't just fly in there, he'd be spotted. So he decided to take another route.

Maintaining his cover, Patamon pattered around the building trying to find another way in. Then he saw a truck parked outside the cafeteria and a door open right beside it. It led into the kitchen.

"Maybe he's in there," he muttered to himself.

Once the coast was clear, Patamon flew into the cafeteria's kitchen. He didn't see Guilmon, but he wasn't really looking with his eyes at that moment. He was distracted by his nose. The fresh aroma of grilled chicken and meat patties had him salivating.

Thinking he could afford to get sidetracked for a few seconds, Patamon slowly inched towards the delicious-smelling food. But when he saw the chefs coming back into the kitchen, he knew he had to hide. Patamon flew into an open box of meat.

"Looks like we've got a busy day."

"Yeah, it's like these kids don't get enough to eat at home."

"Is this today's shipment?"

"Yeah, you know what to do with it."

Patamon suddenly felt the box get lifted up. He was being moved somewhere.

"Hey, this box is heavy. What are they putting in the meat these days?"

A couple of seconds later, Patamon felt the box tip over and he fell out along with the dozens of meat patties into a walk-in freezer. Before Patamon could shake off the cobwebs, the freezer door closed. Patamon soon found that the door couldn't be opened from the inside. He was stuck.

The freezer had to be at subzero temperatures. As Patamon shivered, he could only think about how his appetite had gotten into trouble.

* * *

Wormmon had a simple task: cover Shibuya University's library in hopes that he could find Guilmon. This place looked harmless enough and could contain valuable clues. And for such a search, Wormmon donned his detective hat.

"Sometimes Watson has to go on without Sherlock," he muttered to himself. "Just like I have to do this without Ken. But even without the master detective, Ken Ichijouji, it's up to Detective Wormmon to save the day."

Wormmon walked atop the library's bookshelves with a tiny magnifying glass in his hand, looking along his path for any sign of clues. The students were all wrapped up in their textbooks and homework, so they didn't even notice a green worm walking along a bookshelf. But Wormmon didn't see any physical clues. He had soon stumbled onto a different type of clue.

Two young girls were sitting alone at a table and conversing. They were very quiet, seeing as they WERE in a library. They were likely having a normal conversation, but then Wormmon heard bits and pieces of it that grabbed his attention.

"……so I heard……the game this Friday……Odaiba U's mascot……"

The words immediately got Wormmon curious. He could hardly hear anything, so he decided to go down and get in a better position. He carefully climbed down and slithered towards the table. He held on to one of the table's legs and started eavesdropping.

"You mean to tell me that some freshman kid actually kidnapped the Odaiba Dragon?"

"Uh huh! And rumor has it that he's being kept in one of the cheerleader's dorms. The rugby team passes by there everyday and everyone thinks it's to check and make sure the mascot hasn't escaped."

"Do you really think they can get away with that? I thought that sort of thing was illegal."

"It probably is, but that sort of thing's been done before. Haven't you ever seen 'The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'? The mascot's kept on the rival campus to psych the other team out. When the game's over, the mascot is released and goes home safe and sound. It's exactly the same thing."

Wormmon was getting plenty of info and everything seemed to be going great. But poor Wormmon didn't notice the librarian wheeling over a cart full of books towards the table. And the cart stopped…right on Wormmon's tail.

Wormmon's eyes bulged out. A heavy cart on his tail was enough to have him crying in pain, but he couldn't blow his cover. So he bit his tongue and endured the agony while the girls continued.

"You think Odaiba U might retaliate?"

"I hope not. This is starting to get ugly."

"I think this 'mascot stealing' bit is already crossing the line. I hope it doesn't get any worse."

"You think one of them might come get him?"

"No way. To come to a hostile campus in the midst of a huge rivalry week? Anyone from Odaiba U who'd be dumb enough to come here would have to be a total tool."

"Hey, our class is in five minutes. Let's go."

"Ok."

The girls got up, having unknowingly provided Wormmon with all the information he needed. Now he knew to go look for Guilmon in the dorms. But just as he was about to head out, one of the books from the cart fell on top of his head. Unfortunately, it was a heavy encyclopedia.

"Hmm…a stuffed toy," the librarian said as she picked up the book. "I hope nobody leaves it here."

The librarian wheeled the cart away as Wormmon started staggering around.

"Just…call me…Detective Tool."

Wormmon fell over and lost consciousness.

* * *

Veemon didn't have a clue where to start looking for Guilmon. So he decided to start at the most random of locations, the students' laundry area. The little blue Digimon didn't seriously expect to FIND Guilmon there, but he at least thought he'd get some information he could use.

"So did you hear about the Odaiba mascot?"

That got his ears burning. Two girls were standing by a dryer and one of them brought up a certain mascot. Leaning over by the dryers, Veemon jumped inside a basket full of wet laundry right next to the girls to eavesdrop on their conversation.

"Is it really true that some freshman's hiding him in one of the cheerleader's dorms?"

"I wouldn't doubt it. I hear guys from the rugby team go in everyday to make sure he's still there."

"The things guys do for a stupid rivalry."

Veemon got some vital information, but he didn't know when it was time to bail out. One of the girls picked up the laundry basket he was hiding in and dumped everything, including Veemon, inside the dryer.

"That's heavy! I didn't know all those clothes could weigh so much."

The other girl put a quarter in the dryer and pressed the button. Both girls walked away, not knowing they had a blue Digimon in the dryer. Unable to escape, Veemon…was stuck in a spin cycle. Veemon loved rides as much as the next Digimon, but he felt like he was about to hurl.

Veemon started spitting. "EW…laundry lint!"

Unfortunately for poor Veemon, spin cycles lasted about an hour at the least, so this would last a while.

* * *

Terriermon had looked in just about every dorm building on this campus and found nothing. He didn't even find a single clue as to where Guilmon could be. The two hours were almost up and he was down to his final dorm building. Terriermon stalked towards the entrance and stealthily slipped inside once the coast was clear.

Whenever a student would walk by, Terriermon would freeze and hope he wasn't noticed. Thus far, they had all left him alone, probably just dismissing him as a misplaced toy. It was a long search, but so far he hadn't found anything in any of the other dorms and the search in this particular dorm didn't appear to be any more productive. Terriermon was coming up empty again…

…at least until he heard a familiar voice.

"I'm still pretty hungry."

That was Guilmon's voice. And it was coming from one of the rooms at the end of the hall. Terriermon paused and thought up a game plan. It would be unwise to rush in through the door. So the long-eared Digimon thought of something else. He ran back out through the door and decided to rush in through the window.

As Terriermon ran out the door and ran along the side of the building's wall, he could only imagine what his poor friend must be going through. Guilmon was one of his best friends and he couldn't stand the thought of him possibly being tormented by these SU strangers who were taking a rivalry too far. It must have been horrible in there.

Finally, Terriermon reached the window and looked inside…

"What the…?!"

…to see Guilmon being fed grapes by several of the SU cheerleaders. Guilmon wasn't suffering at all. He was being…PAMPERED.

"You're just the cutest thing, Gil," one of them said.

"I wish you could be OUR mascot," another added. "You seem so innocent. You're such a nice guy."

"Another grape, Gil?"

Guilmon nodded. "Yes, please. Thank you so much. These are delicious."

"Can I buy you a burger after the game on Friday, Gil?"

"Hey, *I* wanted to go out with Gil after the game!"

"What makes you think he wants to go out with either of you? He wants to go out with me!"

"No way! He wants to go out with me!"

"Me!"

"Me!"

"ME!"

Terriermon started to turn beet red. He couldn't believe he had come on such a dangerous rescue mission, only to find that the only danger Guilmon was in was possibly being smothered by these cheerleaders.

The door suddenly opened and someone else came in. Terriermon recognized that face. It was the same Spanish kid with the greasy hair that had doublecrossed Kazu and Kenta. It was that Nicho guy.

Nicho sweatdropped upon seeing this scene. "Ladies, this isn't exactly what I had in mind when I had the mascot brought here. I didn't have him brought here so he could have it better than I do."

"Aw, but he's cute, Nicho," one of them replied.

"Yeah, he's got this innocence that makes him the cutest little thing."

"I can't believe you're all falling over yourselves to cater to the rival school's mascot. You don't even know what he really looks like under that costume!"

"Hey, we don't know that, do we?" one of the cheerleaders realized. "What do you say, Gil? Can we see what you look like?"

Guilmon shook his head frantically. "Uh-uh. You can't see what I really look like. Uh…it's a rule of mascots."

"I don't play by the rules!" Nicho growled. "Now are you going to take off that stupid costume, or am I going to have to take it off?!"

Now things were starting to take a turn for the worst. If Nicho tried to take off the costume…he'd find out it WASN'T a costume. Seeing the urgency of the situation, Terriermon thought fast. He looked out towards the parking lot and shouted as loud as he could.

"What do you mean there's someone from Odaiba here?!"

It didn't exactly get people clamoring. But it did succeed in getting Nicho's attention.

"Someone from Odaiba? They must be here looking for their mascot. Or at least here to negotiate. We should tend to this situation."

"Aw, but do we have to leave Gil here?" one of the cheerleaders pouted.

"He'll be fine…as long as he doesn't try to escape. Because if he does, our rugby team will bend him in many unnatural shapes and uncomfortable knots."

Guilmon gulped. "I don't like the sound of that."

Nicho held the door open. "Ladies, after you."

The cheerleaders filed out of the room and Nicho followed. Guilmon was by himself and this was the opening that Terriermon needed. He tapped on the window with his ear.

Guilmon looked around until he finally noticed Terriermon knocking on the window. The Odaiba mascot ran over and opened the window so Terriermon could come in.

"Hi Terriermon."

Terriermon growled. "Don't you 'Hi Terriermon' me, you big red lizard! I'm busting my butt to try and rescue you and I find you getting waited on hand and foot by a bunch of cheerleaders?! I thought you were in trouble!"

"I am in trouble," Guilmon said calmly. "Didn't you hear Nicho? If I try to leave, I'll get bent into unnatural shapes and uncomfortable knots like Takato's shoelaces."

"That's why we have to get out NOW before he comes back!" Terriermon pointed out. "Let's go out the window."

Terriermon held the window open so Guilmon could climb out. As soon as he climbed out, Terriermon got set to follow, but then he got an idea.

"Hey, Guilmon? Hand me that sweater you have on."

Guilmon took off his Odaiba Dragon sweater, something that was quickly becoming the mascot's trademark, and handed it to Terriermon. The would-be prankster wanted to make sure and get the last laugh on Shibuya University.

"Terriermon, what are you doing?"

Terriermon answered that question by hanging the sweater over the center of a nearby coat rack. Then he placed the coat rack in the middle of the room to send a message to Nicho and the others at Shibuya U. But there was something Terriermon couldn't possibly anticipate.

"Not so fast, amigo!"

Terriermon turned around, but when he did, he was met with a broomstick to the head. Terriermon was sent crashing towards the window. When he raised his head, he saw he had been ambushed…by a Digimon. This one was a small, stout red and yellow bird-like Digimon.

"My Tamer went to a lot of trouble to get that mascot," he said. "But I knew when I first laid eyes on him that he wasn't just a mascot. He's a Digimon like you and me, ¿verdad? But mascot or not, he's not going anywhere, ¿comprende?"

"Who are you?" Terriermon demanded.

"I am Nicho's Digimon, Muchomon. And if you want to take that mascot, you'll have to go through me first, señor."

Guilmon blinked. "Nicho's a Tamer?"

"Bet you didn't see that one coming," Terriermon muttered dryly. He got to his feet. "Ok, I didn't come here for a fight, but if you really want it…"

"Lo quiero mucho, amigo. Poison Claw!"

Muchomon tried to swipe at Terriermon, but only slashed the wall. Guilmon reached into the room and grabbed some rags that were on the floor and dumped them over Muchomon's head.

"¡Caramba! ¿Dònde estas?"

With Muchomon temporarily blinded, Terriermon took his open opportunity.

"Terrier Tornado!"

Muchomon, along with all the rags covering him, were caught in the Terrier Tornado attack. Clothes spun around everywhere and Muchomon was sent flying into the closet. Terriermon shut the closet door and put the coat rack on the knob to keep it closed.

Muchomon pounded on the door. "¿Què es esto? Let me out of here!"

Terriermon saw his chance to escape, so he rushed towards the window and jumped out. With Muchomon momentarily stuck in the closet, they had to make their getaway fast.

"Ok, we need a way to escape. There has to be a way for us to get to the parking lot FAST."

Terriermon looked around, trying to find some way to make a clean getaway. The students were all walking around, in between classes. Sneaking around again was a possibility, but it wouldn't be long before Nicho came back and found Guilmon missing.

That's when Terriermon found something that could help them get to the parking lot free and easily.

It was a bicycle.

Terriermon smirked. "Let's ride!"

* * *

Kari waited at the table outside The Den. Another day had passed and she STILL hadn't started on her paper. Procrastination was starting to get to her. She knew she couldn't delay much longer. But she did need to take a timeout for lunch and she had already promised to have lunch with a certain friend.

And she saw him come through the door. Perfectly prompt, Ryo was five minutes early. He certainly didn't disappoint.

"Nice to see you," Kari smiled. She giggled. "I almost thought you wouldn't show."

"You know I wouldn't miss something like this," Ryo smirked. "It's always good to make a new friend. And Ken's told me good things about you."

"Is that right? Like what?"

"Well…he says you're a good friend, always reliable, and wouldn't hurt a fly…unless you're really mad."

"You won't have to worry about seeing me really mad," Kari grinned. "I think you get enough of that from Rika."

Ryo looked around cautiously. "She's not around or anything, is she?"

Kari shook her head. "Ryo, I wouldn't try to hide Rika under a table. That's more something Jeri would do."

Ryo breathed a sigh of relief. Kari giggled at how nervous he seemed about seeing Rika. She had always pictured the two having a rocky relationship based on what Rika said. And Kari saw that they obviously did…but in a funny kind of way. The way they seemed to have developed a kind of rivalry was rather cute.

And that would provide a perfect segue for an icebreaker.

"You seemed kinda nervous. So I take it you DO like Rika?"

* * *

Davis felt so hungry that he could eat a horse. Unfortunately, The Den didn't serve horse, but they did serve just about everything else a college student could ask for. Davis filled up his plate as Ken, Takato, and Henry just looked on and sweatdropped.

"Enough food, Davis?" Ken asked.

"This should last me a couple of hours," Davis grinned.

"Reminds me of Guilmon," Takato said sadly.

"We'll get him back, Takato," Henry said comfortingly.

"Of course we will," Davis added. "I mean, what's the worst that could happen? Well…besides them trying to take that costume off only to find out that he's actually a Digimon?"

Takato gulped. "I suddenly lost my appetite."

Takato walked off without another word. Henry hesitated before following right behind him.

"Was it something I said?" Davis asked dumbly. Shrugging that off, he turned to Ken. "So how's everything going with Yolei? She still mad about the other night?"

"Davis, you know Yolei wouldn't hold a grudge…not against me, anyway. Everything between us is just fine. It couldn't be any better."

As if on cue, Yolei walked through the door of The Den, holding up a bouquet of roses. At first, Davis thought it was something nice Ken had done for her to get back in her good graces. But Yolei wasn't smiling. In fact, she stormed up to Ken and shoved the roses into his chest.

Ken blinked. "Yolei…I see you got my flowers."

"Guess again, Ken!"

"Uh…you got ME flowers? That's sweet of you."

"READ THE CARD!!"

Ken flinched as he took out the card that was attached and started reading. "To my dear Ken, here's hoping that you and I will see a lot more of each other soon. Love…Rosa."

"Yeah, 'Love, Rosa'!" Yolei growled. "What's THAT about, Ken?!"

"Yolei, I had no idea…!"

Yolei turned around and started leaving. "Have your roses! Hope you prick yourself!"

Ken wanted to chase after her, but Davis held him back. He knew better than anyone that there was no dealing with Yolei when she was in this kind of mood.

"Davis, am I doing anything wrong?" Ken asked.

"No, but it's not like Yolei cares right now."

"I guess she's feels like I'm going to fall for Rosa," Ken sighed. "Maybe I can do something to show her that I only have eyes for her."

"That's a great idea, Ken!" Davis grinned. "And I can help you!"

Ken's eyes widened. "Uh…er…Davis…that's really not necessary. I…couldn't be a bother."

"You're no bother, Ken. Of course I'll help you! No questions asked."

Davis felt so excited about helping his best friend, he didn't even notice the audible gulp right next to him. But he did notice something outside the window. He saw Kari sitting at a table…with someone else…another guy.

"Hey, who is that?!" Davis demanded.

Ken looked out. "Looks like Ryo. I guess he and Kari are having lunch together."

"Since when does your friend get to have lunch with my girl?"

"Davis, they're just having lunch together. I'm sure it's nothing. Well…………………"

"What do you mean 'Well…'?"

"Well…Ryo always WAS somewhat of a ladies' man."

"Ok, that's enough for me. Let's go."

"Davis, you can't just interrupt them. What would Kari say?"

"You're right," Davis conceded. Then he perked up. "Then we'll just sit right next to them and listen to what they're saying!"

"Isn't that eavesdropping?"

"Nobody said it wasn't."

Ken sighed. "I'm already in trouble with Yolei, Davis. I don't need Kari and Ryo mad at me, too."

"Ok, fine. I'll do it myself."

Davis pulled his goggles over his eyes and got ready to start spying. As the door that led outside kept opening, Davis crawled out the door, making sure nobody saw him. Kari and Ryo kept on going as Davis sneaked under the table.

  


Next Week: Just call Davis an eavesdropper. He's snooping under the table as Kari and Ryo have lunch, but can he keep from being caught? Meanwhile, Terriermon and the others try and make a clean getaway from Shibuya University. Can they make it out…without leaving a trail of destruction in their wake? And with Ken and Yolei's relationship hanging by a thread, can Davis make things better…with a few unwilling helpers?

  


Any comments? Then mail me at AmericanCaptor@hotmail.com and don't forget to review below!


	19. Serenade

Last Week: Terriermon recruited Veemon, Patamon, and Wormmon for a rescue mission. Taking Davis's car, they went off to Shibuya University to get Guilmon back. While the three DigiDestined Digimon ran into trouble, Terriermon found his friend…in a dorm room getting waited on by cheerleaders. Once he was finally alone, Terriermon went in for the rescue, but met up with Nicho's Digimon, Muchomon. After quickly taking him out of the equation, Terriermon and Guilmon headed out the window and found their means of escape: a bicycle. Agumon, Gabumon, Hawkmon, and Armadillomon continued through the deserts of Server and finally found a huge breakthrough. The Digimon Empress stepped out of the shadows to confront them and unleashed ChaosGallantmon. Despite Gennai's box giving Agumon and Gabumon the power to Warp Digivolve without their partners, ChaosGallantmon still got the upper hand and left our heroic friends buried. Davis and Ken went to The Den for lunch but met up with an irate Yolei who had a little surprise for Ken. They were flowers for him…FROM ROSA! Davis vowed to help Ken through this (despite Ken's protests), but then found Kari having lunch with Ryo! Now Davis is getting ready to spy on them.

  


**Digimon: The College Years**

Episode 19- Serenade

  


Davis crawled through the outside of The Den, making sure not to be seen, until he made it to the bush next to the table Kari and Ryo were sitting at. Now he was in a perfect position to hear what they were saying.

He didn't want to believe that he didn't trust Kari. He did. But she wasn't quite his girlfriend and there was the possibility that maybe this guy had some interest in her. And if he was as amazing a guy as Ken said he was, then Davis had a lot to worry about. Maybe there WAS something brewing between Ryo and Kari. After all, why else would they be having lunch together?

Davis wanted to find out. But he couldn't just come out, or Kari might think he was spying on her. He just intended to stay in the shrubs and listen to every word.

* * *

It was nice getting to know Ryo. And she couldn't believe some of the things she had already learned about him. In fact, she had learned some VERY interesting things about him.

"Uh…you won't say anything to anybody, will you?" Ryo asked. If he hadn't had such a confident façade, she could have sworn he was nervous.

"I can keep a secret," Kari smiled. "You don't have to worry about me telling anybody."

Ryo raised an eyebrow. "Not even…?"

"Of course not," Kari smirked. "Nobody will know."

"Oh, that's great," Ryo sighed in relief. "You don't know how tough it was to get that off my chest."

"Don't worry about a thing. Nobody has to find out. Not until you give the word, anyway."

"Thanks, Kari. You don't know how much that means to me."

Ryo leaned over and was about to kiss Kari on the cheek. But before he did…

"OW!"

Ryo suddenly got beaned in the head with a bagel that seemingly flew out of nowhere. Ryo grabbed the bagel and rubbed his temple.

"Where did this come from?" he asked.

"I have no idea," Kari replied.

Ryo just shrugged and tossed it towards the nearest trash can. Unfortunately, as perfect as Rika made him out to be, he wasn't exactly a perfect shot. He overshot the trash can and the bagel fell into the bush right beside it. Seeing a free meal, a flock of pigeons made a beeline for the bagel.

"HEY! SHOO!"

Kari gasped when she saw someone jump out of the bush, waving around a pair of goggles to try and shoo away the pigeons.

"Davis?!"

Davis chuckled nervously. "Hi Kari!"

"What are you doing behind that bush?!" Kari demanded.

Davis hesitated before steering around the question. "What are you doing having lunch with another guy?"

"Oh…uh…I can answer that," Ryo began. "We were just…"

Kari cut him off. "Wait a minute, Ryo! You don't have to tell him anything! Davis, were you spying on me?!"

Davis sweatdropped. "Spying? Uh…no…I was just…listening…from the bush."

Kari gasped. "You WERE spying on me! Davis, how could you?! Don't you trust me?!"

Davis did the best he could to defend himself. "Of course I trust you, Kari! But…"

"But what? You still felt you had to follow me to make sure I was behaving myself? I thought you knew me better than that!"

"I do! But…but…but…"

Kari waited patiently, but Davis honestly didn't have anymore argument left. She didn't need to hear anymore. She turned around and started walking out.

"I can't believe you, Davis!"

Davis tried to follow, but Ryo held him back and shook his head.

"Trust me. I've been here."

Kari didn't even look back. She had already broken up with TK because of a lack of trust. She didn't want to think her budding relationship with Davis would end the same way.

It was sad. He had changed so much, but this was an act worthy of the OLD Davis Motomiya.

* * *

After a LONG spin cycle, Veemon managed to get out of the dryer in one piece. Unfortunately, he only came out of there a little fluffier than before. He didn't find Guilmon and the two hours were up. And that's why he had come back to the rendezvous point, waiting for his friends who, hopefully had better luck than he did.

A couple of minutes later, a groggy Wormmon joined up with him, rubbing his head as he arrived.

"What's wrong with you?" Veemon asked curiously.

"Let's just say I hit the books harder than I ever intended," Wormmon answered. "How'd it go?"

Before Veemon could answer, Patamon slowly flew over and joined them. He was noticeably shivering.

"What happened to you?" Wormmon asked.

"I accidentally got locked in a freezer," Patamon muttered as his teeth chattered. "It was a good thing they came back for the meat. And the worst part is that I didn't even get to eat anything!"

"Did you find out anything about Guilmon?" Veemon asked.

Patamon shook his head. "I couldn't find a thing. Did you guys have better luck?"

Wormmon chimed in with his info. "I found out that Guilmon is being kept in one of the dorms. I found it out just before I got knocked unconscious."

Veemon nodded. "Then we've got a new place to look. Should we go or should we wait for Terriermon?"

"Where IS Terriermon?" Patamon pointed out.

Veemon gasped and pointed towards the distance. "INCOMING!!"

The three Digimon saw a bicycle coming towards them, through a crowd of students, at an extremely fast speed. It was almost as if the rider was out of control. Then he saw that the one riding the bike was Guilmon with Terriermon sitting on the bike's handlebar. Guilmon rode towards the end of the concrete walkway and was launched into the air.

The landing was a smooth one, but unfortunately, he couldn't make a stop…and he was about to hit the Digimon.

"SCATTER!" Veemon shouted.

Everyone dove in different directions as Guilmon rode past them.

"Hit the brake!!" Terriermon cried.

"Which one's the brake?" Guilmon asked.

Guilmon didn't get enough time to find the brake. The bike kept going until it crashed into a car parked in the handicapped spot. Guilmon and Terriermon both went airborne and landed hard…right by Davis's car.

It wasn't the most graceful arrival, but it was good enough for what it was. Veemon, Patamon, and Wormmon ran out to the parking lot to join their friends.

"You ok, Guilmon?" Wormmon asked. "We were starting to think something bad happened."

"Uh…that fall looked like it hurt," Patamon mused.

"It's ok," Guilmon grinned. "Nothing a little snack won't fix."

"Nothing a little snack won't fix," Terriermon parroted angrily. "You big red goofball! You've seen Takato ride these things for years! You mean to tell me you never paid attention to where the brake was?!"

Veemon pointed out at the path of destruction. "Uh…we'd better go!"

Everyone looked over to see that Guilmon's wild ride had left a lot of students panicked and knocked down. And that was drawing curiosity. If they delayed anymore, they would get discovered.

Now wanting anyone to find them, Veemon quickly opened the car door. Everyone filed in and took their positions with Guilmon in the passenger's seat. Terriermon stood on Veemon's back and turned the key. The car quickly started and Terriermon was ready to drive away.

"Gas!"

Patamon pounded on the gas pedal…and the car promptly slammed into the car in front of them. Terriermon sweatdropped and put the car in reverse.

"Uh…gas!"

Patamon pounded on the gas again…and this time hit another car with the rear fender. Terriermon sweatdropped again. He put the car in drive.

"Uh…gas! But don't put so much oomph in it!"

Patamon slowly pressed on the gas as the car began to drive away. It looked like they had come out of this rescue mission successful. Guilmon had been recovered safely and they were now on their way back to Odaiba U.

The only casualty seemed to be Davis's car. And Veemon didn't have much time to think of an excuse.

* * *

Izzy had given Talley and Yamaki his word that he wouldn't say anything about them both being undercover agents. And he intended to keep his word. Today he found himself in Sora and Mimi's room. Sora was still trying to dress up Biyomon and Palmon, hoping to get that children's line of clothing out sooner than later while Mimi was mixing up some kind of concoction inside a bowl. Joe, who had been with Mimi for a couple of years, was right there with Izzy…along with Gomamon. Like Izzy, Joe couldn't seem to keep his Digimon in the Digital World.

Mimi finished mixing up her batter. "Ok, Sora, I finally finished!"

Sora turned around and sweatdropped. "Mimi, you didn't really go through with that, did you?"

Mimi nodded. "You bet I did! It's my own homemade shampoo! Years of treating my hair with the most advanced in haircare technology has encouraged me to make something myself. And today, I finally finished! And lucky for you, you get to be the first to try it!"

Sora gulped. "Mimi…are you sure that's safe?"

"Sora, I included only the finest ingredients. And besides, I had Joe here to help me out. Isn't that right, Joe?"

"I had a couple of original additions to add to the batter myself."

"Like what?" Sora asked curiously.

"Well, most of the best shampoos get their best ingredients from animals. I decided to try something a little different. I got my ingredients from Digimon."

That intrigued Izzy. "Digimon? How did you pull that off?"

"I managed to pick some fur off Gabumon's coat during my last trip to the Digital World. And it's as stable as any horsehair…at least I think it is. It IS untested, but…we all know how neat and clean Gabumon keeps his coat, so you should be just fine."

Sora thought about it. "Is this really worth being a guinea pig?"

"Sora, I'm your best friend and I wouldn't do anything that would harm you in any way," Mimi smiled. "You can trust me, so what do you say?"

Sora nodded. "Ok, you talked me into it."

Mimi didn't need to be told twice. She whipped out a towel and started mixing the batter into Sora's hair.

As much as Izzy wanted to say something to his friends about that meeting with Yamaki, he knew he couldn't tell them everything. But Izzy realized that he had only promised to keep their secret about being undercover. He never said anything about not trying to help if he could. And maybe he and the DigiDestined could lend a hand.

"Guys, there's something you all should know," Izzy began.

"What is it, Izzy?" Joe asked curiously.

"I may have stumbled onto some information about the recent Digimon attacks. These aren't just a coincidence. Somebody's been bringing the Digimon to our world."

"I kinda figured that, Izzy," Mimi sighed. "I mean, even *I* may be slow sometimes, but it doesn't take a computer genius to figure out that Digimon can't come here on their own."

"But there's more to this," Izzy continued. "I found out that whomever's bringing the Digimon here…is from this school!"

Mimi stopped her lathering. "You mean a student?"

"It could very well be a student," Izzy answered. "But we don't even have a vague description to work with. For all we know, it could be a student or a professor or even the janitor. The only piece of information we have is that somebody on this campus is a mole. Whoever that mole is, is somehow connected with the Digimon that have been attacking. And they could be bringing in more soon."

"But who could it be?" Sora asked. "Do you have any suspects, Izzy?"

"I haven't got a single idea where to start mole hunting," Izzy admitted. "I was hoping one of you might have noticed anything suspicious."

Just then, someone knocked on the door. The door slowly opened. "Ladies, can I come in?"

The Digimon all froze when they saw Resident Director, Ms. Mackenzie, stick her head in the door.

"Sure thing, Ms. Mackenzie," Mimi said as she kept lathering Sora's hair.

Ms. Mackenzie walked in and looked around, surveying the area. "I just wanted to give you all a heads up on this rivalry week. It looks like tensions are getting very high as you may have noticed with what happened at the gym. If you notice anything suspicious in this hall, feel free to exercise your power as an RA or alert me."

"We will, Ms. Mackenzie," Sora replied.

Ms. Mackenzie suddenly noticed Tentomon beside the bed and picked him up. She gave him a long stare, as if she noticed something suspicious about him.

"I really must admit that these are very strange stuffed animals you all have. They're so lifelike."

"That's the way they're made these days," Izzy chuckled nervously.

"Well, I'd better head out to alert the RA's downstairs. Have a good day, ladies."

Ms. Mackenzie walked out and Tentomon breathed a sigh of relief. Izzy hadn't noticed, but Joe never took his eyes off her.

"That's MY suspect," he finally said.

"You suspect our RD?" Mimi asked skeptically.

"There's something weird about her," Joe explained. "When I first bumped into her, I couldn't help but notice that weird stare she gave Gomamon. It was the same stare she just gave to Tentomon. And when I went to get my Digivice from her the other day, it was as if she knew something about it. It's like there's some weird aura about her."

"So what do you think we should do?" Mimi asked.

"That's easy enough," Joe replied. "We get the Digimon to inspect her room and see if they find anything on her."

Sora's eyes widened. "You want them to spy on her?"

"I'm sure Gomamon is more than up to it," Joe said assuredly.

"No, Gomamon is NOT up to it," Gomamon cut in. "Joe, I've seen the way she looks at me. It's like she knows what I am or something. I don't want to risk her catching me in her room."

Mimi finished lathering Sora's hair. "Ok, all done. Now put this on your head and leave it there until tomorrow. In the morning, you'll have the most BEAUTIFUL hair!"

Sora took a towel and wrapped it around her head. Meanwhile, Izzy decided to get another target to spy on Ms. Mackenzie.

"What about you, Tentomon?"

"I've already been in enough trouble this year," Tentomon piped up. "Don't ask me to go on any espionage missions."

"Then who else can we get?" Izzy wondered.

A light bulb appeared over Joe's head. He peered over towards the mirror. Everyone turned their heads to see what Joe was seeing. They all started to stare at the two who were trying on clothes in front of the mirror.

"Does this dress make me look fat?" Biyomon asked.

"Oh, no. It's SO you," Palmon assured her.

Suddenly, they both froze in their tracks. They both turned around and noticed that all eyes were on them. They both sweatdropped.

Biyomon gulped. "Uh…why are you looking at us like that?"

Sora smiled. "We have a job for you two…"

* * *

Takato squeezed a stress ball as hard as he could. A long time had passed and there was still nothing that indicated that Guilmon would be coming back. Kazu and Kenta had really messed up this time. If Takato never saw Guilmon again, he would never forgive them.

Usually at this point, Henry would cut in and try to calm him down. But Henry had worries of his own. Terriermon was nowhere in sight. And after the events of the last few days, it was likely that Terriermon was off causing mischief somewhere. Takato was frankly surprised that Henry didn't have a full head of gray hair by now with the way Terriermon had been keeping himself busy. Maybe Guilmon was out a lot, but he hardly ever created problems for Takato.

Then Takato came to his senses. This was a HUGE problem. Guilmon was stuck on a strange campus and since Takato was relatively new in town, he didn't know where to find it.

"Where is he?" Henry muttered.

"He's stuck somewhere, Henry," Takato said sadly. "Poor Guilmon. He must be so scared right now…and hungry…"

"I'm talking about Terriermon!" Henry growled. "If I find out he's trying to commit another prank…"

"I think Terriermon's learned his lesson with pranks…for now, anyway," Takato thought. "But that IS pretty weird. Where would he run off to?" Just then, he heard someone knock on the door. Takato couldn't help but chuckle. "Maybe that's him."

Takato walked over to answer the door, but before he made it, the door opened and smashed his nose.

"Silly me," the voice behind the door said. "I almost forgot you guys always keep the door unlocked."

Takato rubbed his nose painfully. "Yeah, I'm not surprised, Davis."

"Any word about Guilmon?" Davis asked.

"Nothing yet," Henry answered. "But I've got a bad feeling about this. I haven't seen Terriermon all day and I think something might have happened."

"HI!"

"AAH!"

Terriermon popped up out of nowhere by the window, sending Henry tumbling back. Terriermon had an awfully big grin on his face in light of the situation.

"And where have YOU been?" Henry asked curtly.

"Making things right again," Terriermon replied cheerfully.

"What do you mean?" Takato asked.

Takato didn't need to wait long for his answer. Terriermon climbed in the window and someone came in right behind him. Seeing that someone come in took a huge weight off Takato's shoulders.

"Guilmon!"

Takato started running over to his partner, but Guilmon leapt over first and knocked Takato over. Much like Dino and Fred Flintstone, Guilmon tackled Takato and started licking his face uncontrollably.

Takato finally composed himself. "Guilmon, are you ok?"

"I'm fine, Takatomon. It wasn't so bad there, but it's nice to be back. And I wouldn't be back if it wasn't for Terriermon. He came all the way to Shibuya University to pick me up."

"I owe you one, Terriermon," Takato smiled. "How'd you do it? How did you get all the way over there?"

Terriermon sweatdropped. "Uh…so did we miss anything while we were gone? How's the weather out there, you guys?"

It didn't take much more than that to get Henry suspicious. "Terriermon…how did you get to Shibuya University?"

Terriermon gulped. "Uh…um…so how's Guilmon's cheerleader friend? She doing ok?"

"Terriermon!" Henry nagged. "How did you get there?"

Terriermon was sweating bullets now. "We…drove. But not your car, Henry! I wouldn't do anything like that."

Henry blinked. "I didn't think you took MY car. I still have my car keys."

"I have my car keys, too," Takato added.

"And I have my keys right here," Davis piped up.

"Uh…you sure that's the only key you've got, buddy?" Terriermon chuckled nervously.

Davis's eyes widened. "You took MY car?!"

"It was Veemon's idea!" Terriermon cried. "He got your other key and we all drove to Shibuya University!"

"I can't believe you guys took my car!" Davis shouted.

"Calm down, Davis," Takato said gently. "They all made it back safely and I'm sure nothing bad happened to your car. It's got to be in one piece. Right, Terriermon?"

Terriermon sweatdropped again. "Well………not exactly……"

Davis's voice was noticeably quivering. "What do you mean 'not exactly'?"

Terriermon grinned sheepishly. "Driving is a lot harder than I thought."

Davis stormed out of the room, obviously concerned about his car. Takato wanted to follow, but right now he was just glad to have Guilmon back. He wasn't in any rush to leave his buddy anytime soon.

Henry just lied back on his bed and put his hand over his forehead. "What am I going to do with you, Terriermon?"

"Whatever you have to do, Henry," Terriermon grinned. "Just as long as it doesn't involve me going home with Lopmon."

Henry looked like a frustrated parent desperately searching for a way to discipline his child. This year was certainly making the relationship between Henry and Terriermon a rocky one.

But Henry was a resourceful guy. Takato knew he would find a way to deal with Terriermon. And hopefully it would be something more creative than grounding him.

* * *

"What do you mean I'm grounded?!"

Everyone sweatdropped when they heard that from Henry. Everyone except Davis, who was lamenting over his car. There were dents all over the place and the front door had fallen off. The fender and bumper were hanging by a thread. His insurance rates were sure to go through the roof.

"You're grounded," Henry reiterated. "Terriermon, look what you did to Davis's car! I don't want to send you home, but I can't just let you do something like this and get off scot-free."

"But I saved Guilmon! Doesn't that count for anything?"

"And we all appreciate it. But you're still grounded!"

Davis just pounded the pavement. "It's not fair! She was so young!"

Somebody whistled from the distance. "Wow! Look at that car wreck."

Davis turned around. "Look at her, Ken! My poor car!"

TK, who was walking behind Ken, just shook his head. "And I thought MY car had it the worst. Welcome to the club, Davis."

Davis sighed. "This is the worst thing that could happen. I wanted to take Kari out tonight to make up for being a bonehead." Then he got an idea. He put an arm around Ken's shoulder. "Hey Ken! I almost forgot! I didn't forget that I planned to help make things between you and Yolei all better. And no need to thank me. But if you REALLY want to thank me, you can let me borrow your car tomorrow night."

Ken sweatdropped. "Uh……ok…I guess." Then he shrugged it off. "Wait a minute! What exactly are you planning to do for me and Yolei, Davis?"

"Nothing that I can't handle with some help from my friends."

TK immediately saw where this was going and was quick to toss his hat out of the ring. "Count me out, Davis! As much as I LOVE being a part of your crazy ideas, I've got work tonight. A pizza delivery boy's work is never done."

"Especially when that pizza boy's using MY car," Ken cut in.

Davis wasn't about to let that little setback stop him. "Then I'll get a couple of friends who CAN help." He put his arms around Takato and Henry's shoulders. "So what do you guys say?"

Takato shrugged. "Us? I don't see why not."

"What's the worst that could happen?" Henry added.

TK suddenly burst into laughter. Davis sweatdropped as TK began to clutch his stomach from his sudden laugh attack. Ken tried to hold it in, but even he was snickering. Then he clutched his stomach and burst into all-out laughter. TK leaned on Ken's shoulder to keep from falling over.

Henry gulped. "Why I do I get the feeling we're going to regret this?"

"It…can't be that bad," Takato chuckled nervously. "Can it?"

Ken and TK stopped for a second to absorb that last question. Then they both burst into laughter again. This time, they were laughing even harder. Takato and Henry were getting noticeably tense. It was obvious that they didn't recognize Davis's track record.

Davis was looking at the bright side of this, however. This was his chance to show his new friends that he knew how to get things done. It was like a new beginning. Davis could show that he was crafty.

And it would all happen…tonight.

* * *

That night, Davis was feeling lucky. He could see all the pieces falling into place. He knew just what to do and this would get Ken and Yolei back on the same page for sure.

Davis was outside the freshman dorm building by the bluff overlooking Odaiba. It was a romantic setting and the perfect place to pull this off. And he had the perfect helpers right behind the big tree.

"Ok guys, let me see how they look."

"Davis, I can't believe you talked us into this!" Takato growled.

"We look ridiculous!" Henry added.

"It's too late for you guys to back out now!" Davis pointed out. "You already agreed to help. Now let me see what you look like."

Takato and Henry begrudgingly walked out from behind the tree. They were dressed in red vests, white shirts, and slacks with fake handlebar mustaches on their upper lip. They looked like guys from a barbershop quartet.

"Isn't there one of you missing?" Davis thought.

Henry looked behind the tree. "Come on! You're part of this, too!"

"No way!" the voice shouted back. "I won't do it!"

Henry shot him a cold stare and he soon came out. Indeed, it was Terriermon, also dressed up in a barber shop ensemble.

"So you guys know what to do, right?" Davis asked.

"Actually, we don't," Takato replied. "What do we do?"

Davis sighed. "Ok, I'll explain it again. You guys just stay behind the tree and wait for me to say the word. As soon as I say the word 'serenade', you guys press 'play' on the stereo back there and get ready to start backing up Terriermon. And Terriermon, you jump out and start singing. Do it just like we practiced."

"As soon as you say the word 'serenade'?" Terriermon repeated.

"Yeah! As soon as you hear that word, don't even hesitate! Just come out and do your thing! Now get behind the tree and wait for your cue."

Takato, Henry, and Terriermon sighed and went back to their post behind the tree. Davis felt very good about himself. There was nothing that could possibly go wrong.

"Davis?"

Davis gulped. He turned around and saw an unexpected interruption.

"Oh…hi Kari."

Davis didn't expect to run into Kari out here. He was there waiting for Ken to bring Yolei out there.

"I was hoping to find you," Kari said. "Tai said he saw you coming out this way. I want to talk about what happened earlier."

"Kari, you don't even have to say it," Davis cut her off. "I feel terrible about what happened and I'm really sorry."

Kari sighed. "Davis, you know that I broke up with TK over something like this. There's nothing I hate more than not being trusted."

"And I realize that, Kari. It's not that I don't trust you. It's just that…I don't really know Ryo and after some of the things Ken told me about him, I got scared."

"You should know I wouldn't let anything happen. You have to trust me. If I'm with you, then there's no reason for me to be with anyone else."

"But the thing is…you AREN'T with me. We aren't an official couple yet, remember?"

Kari stayed silent. That was true. Davis and Kari had gone out a few times, but they weren't officially boyfriend and girlfriend. At any time, Kari could fall for someone else and it would all be over.

"You…want to make it official?" Davis smiled.

Kari shook her head. "Davis…if anything, today has shown me that maybe we aren't ready to take that next step yet. Maybe we should slow down a bit. You understand, don't you?"

"Of course, Kari. And I have no problem with slowing down. I mean, it's not like there's any other guy out there who would be willing to do what I do. I'd walk a thousand miles for you! I'd give everything I have for you! And I'm always willing to go out of my way to do something special for you like take you on a romantic night out, go on a romantic trip with you, or surprise you with a serenade."

Unfortunately, Davis didn't know when to quit. He had uttered the magic word at the wrong time and the music had suddenly started. As the music played, Terriermon moonwalked out from behind the tree with the microphone in his hand and started singing.

_"My life…will never be the same._

'Cause girl you came and changed

The way I walk

The way I talk

I cannot explain…the things I feel for you

But girl, you know it's true

Stay with me

Fulfill your dreams

And I'll be all you'll need."

Takato and Henry, behind the tree, started background singing. "Oh, oh, oh, oh, ooh…it feels so right. I've searched for the perfect love all my life. Oh, oh, oh, oh, ooh…it feels like I…have finally found the perfect love that's mine."

Terriermon went into the chorus. "You rocked my world, you know you did. And everything I own I give. The rarest love who'd think I'd find…someone like you to call mine. You rocked my world, you know you did. And everything I own I give. The rarest love who'd think I'd find…someone like you to call mine."

Davis knew he should have cut this off immediately. This was supposed to be for Yolei. But when he looked into Kari's eyes, he saw a joy he had never seen in her before. She was truly touched. Davis didn't have the heart to stop it. And even if he did, he was no fool. If Davis tried to tell her that this serenade wasn't meant for her, he would suffer dire consequences.

Maybe this wouldn't turn out so bad. Maybe no one else would notice and Davis could ask Terriermon to do an encore for Yolei later on.

* * *

"Ken, I don't understand why we're going out here."

Yolei was in a grouchy mood since catching Rosa's flowers at Ken's doorstep. And the last person she wanted to see today…was Ken. But Ken had stopped at her door earlier and insisted that they make things right again. So here they were. Ken was leading Yolei out by the hand. She didn't know exactly what he had planned, but this path was starting to look familiar. It looked like the path towards the bluff.

The bluff was a popular romantic hotspot. Yolei was hardly in a romantic mood, however. Ken wasn't exactly endearing himself to her. If he truly cared about her, he'd do something special to reassure her. Rosa was proving to be a huge thorn in their relationship and it didn't look like Ken was making any effort to push her out of the picture and that left Yolei worried…and threatened.

"I wanted to make up for earlier," Ken said. "I never meant to get those roses and I want to show you that…"

Yolei stopped and took her hand from Ken's grip. "What is that?!"

Yolei couldn't believe what she was seeing. It looked like…Terriermon…and he was singing…for Davis and Kari.

"You rocked my world, you know you did. And everything I own I give. The rarest love who'd think I'd find…someone like you to call mine. You rocked my world, you know you did. And everything I own I give. The rarest love who'd think I'd find…someone like you to call mine. You rocked my world!"

Yolei was in disbelief. She knew Davis was always the type for crazy schemes, but this was really sweet. He had actually gone the extra mile to arrange a romantic serenade for Kari. She wished more than anything that Ken would do something like that for her.

Ken's eyes widened. "Davis! But…"

"That's so sweet of him!" Yolei cried. "And you wouldn't EVER think of doing something like that for me, would you, Ken Ichijouji?!"

"B-B-But Yolei…"

"Don't you 'B-B-But Yolei' me! I've had enough, Ken! I'm going back to my room!"

"Yolei!"

Yolei didn't even look back. She didn't need to see Ken's face right now, because it would infuriate her. But she couldn't help but envy Kari. She was lucky to have someone like Davis willing to arrange something like that for her.

* * *

After the song ended, Terriermon took a bow. "Thank you. I do requests. And I do a pretty good Elvis, to boot."

Kari threw her arms around Davis. "Davis, this is the sweetest thing anybody's ever done for me! How can I ever thank you?"

Davis had unwittingly gotten in Kari's good graces. He knew he couldn't pass this opportunity up. Then again, he didn't want to press his luck, so he would keep things on the safe side.

"Can we forget about the way I acted earlier?" Davis requested.

Kari nodded. "You got it! Consider it forgotten. Davis?"

"Yeah, Kari?"

"You want to have breakfast tomorrow before class?"

"Sounds good!"

"Great! I'll see you in the morning. Good night…"

Kari leaned over towards Davis and their lips met. As soon as they parted, Davis was in a euphoric trance.

"…and thank you. I'll never forget this."

Kari walked away as Davis just blushed and remained in his trance. He didn't notice Takato or Henry come out from behind the tree.

"I'm starting to wonder if there was even a point to wearing these ridiculous outfits," Henry noted.

Takato waved a hand over Davis's face and got no reaction. "Wow! He's totally gone!"

"But he owes me!" Terriermon growled as he climbed up on Henry's shoulder. "This act is worthy of Vegas! I can't just do that sort of thing for free."

"You aren't in any position to be asking for anything," Henry pointed out. "You're grounded, remember?"

"No fair, Henry! You don't see Suzie punishing Lopmon."

"Don't compare me to my little sister! That's hitting below the belt!"

"I could compare you to your dad. But then again, your dad wouldn't punish me either!"

"That's because you're not my dad's responsibility!"

"But I didn't even do anything wrong! Patamon was the one who hit the gas too hard!"

The argument ensued as Henry and Terriermon walked away. Takato waved an arm in front of Davis's face one more time, but still got no reaction. Then he quickly followed Henry. It didn't look like anything could take Davis out of his elation.

"DAVIS!"

That voice brought Davis back to reality. He turned his head to see Ken, who wasn't happy at all.

"Hey, Ken. Where's Yolei?"

"Gone! She went back to her room after seeing Terriermon singing to KARI!"

Davis gulped. "Uh…Ken…the funniest thing happened. And when you hear it, you'll laugh so hard…"

"I don't need to hear it, I saw it! And I'm NOT laughing! It's pretty obvious that Kari showed up and you couldn't resist making things between you and her better! But by doing that, your plan backfired, just like all your OTHER STUPID PLANS BACKFIRE!!"

Davis flinched. "Ken, I didn't think Kari would show up. This would have worked."

"Maybe, but now you've made things worse! Yolei's even madder than before and now I don't know what's going to happen between us!"

"This sounds bad. Maybe I can…"

"NO!! You've done enough!! No more help!! Just stay out of this, Davis!!"

Ken stormed off, leaving Davis alone at the bluff. A night of good intentions had turned disastrous. Davis had never seen Ken that angry with him before. He had really messed up this time.

But on the upside…at least things with Kari were all better.

* * *

Yolei was walking by the freshman dorms as she made her way back to her building. On the way back, she had run into her roommate, Catherine. Yolei needed someone like her to hear her out. After that awful fight with Ken, she needed a sympathetic ear. And Catherine was more than willing to listen.

"And that's why I'm so mad," Yolei finished. "Ken's never done anything like that for me. I feel like……like we don't connect anymore."

"This sounds very serious, Yolei," Catherine replied. "And you believe Ken may be showing interest in this high school girl?"

"I see chemistry between Ken and Rosa. And if it's not true, then why isn't he brushing her off?"

"It sounds like he's testing you," Catherine thought. "I've been through this sort of thing before…from both sides. I believe Ken is taking you for granted. Show him how lucky he is. Why don't you try having a night out…with someone else?"

That caught Yolei by surprise. "Another guy? I don't know…"

"Yolei…do you really believe Ken wouldn't go out with Rosa if he had the opportunity?"

Yolei scowled. "You're right. I have to show Ken that he's taking me for granted. In fact…I'll do it! I'll go out with another guy for one night!"

Catherine's face brightened. "You don't know how happy I am to hear that, Yolei! In fact, maybe you could help me by going out with…"

Yolei didn't give Catherine a chance to finish her proposal. She stopped the very first guy that came walking towards the freshman dorm. It just happened to be Henry Wong.

"Henry, what are you doing Saturday night?"

Henry blinked. "Uh…I don't think I'm doing anything…"

"Great! We'll go out! I'll call you! Can't wait to see you!"

Yolei kissed Henry on the cheek and skipped off merrily, leaving Catherine behind. Maybe this would get her mind off Ken. A part of her felt a little guilty, but she tried to push that feeling away by continually telling herself…

…technically, this wasn't cheating.

* * *

Henry blushed and tried to absorb what just happened. One moment, he was coming back to his room with Terriermon on his shoulder. The next moment…he suddenly had a date with Yolei. He couldn't understand how that happened.

"Yolei! That is not quite what I had in mind!" Catherine called out. "I meant…"

The building's main door suddenly opened. Catherine was cut off by one of her wannabe boyfriends.

"Hey, I was hoping to run into you tonight," Tai said cheerfully. "I thought you'd be studying."

Catherine sighed. "I'm taking a break. Tai…"

"I thought I heard a beautiful French lady," a second voice called out. It was TK, who had apparently just arrived from work. "How's your studying going?"

"I'm taking a break!" Catherine sighed again. "Gentlemen, as much fun as it is being with you…can I PLEASE have some space?! I already said I'd see you two on Saturday! Isn't that enough?!"

"I didn't think anybody could have enough of me," Tai grinned.

"I think some of Matt's hair spray went to your brain," TK scoffed. "She's obviously had enough of you and wants to be around me! She knows I can show her a good time."

"With what?" Tai scoffed. "Your junkmobile is still in the shop!"

"I don't need a car to show her a good time! She still has more fun with me than she does with you!"

"Gentlemen, STOP!" Catherine snapped. "Look, I've tried being nice, but now I see I'll have to be a little more…assertive.

"You two are smothering me! I need space! I need time to myself! LEAVE ME ALONE!!"

Catherine's face turned beet red and Tai and TK flinched. Even Henry flinched, and he was standing at a safe distance.

Catherine instantly did a 180 back to her sweet demeanor. "There…I feel better. I'll see you two on Saturday."

Catherine calmly walked off as if nothing happened. Tai and TK had composed themselves and were back to shooting each other death glares.

"Look what you did," Tai muttered.

"What *I* did?" TK shot back. "You're the one that got her mad! She doesn't like it when somebody talks bad about her sweetheart."

"The only one who thinks you're a sweetheart is your mother."

"Don't bring my mother into this!"

Tai and TK argued like that as they went back into the freshman dorms. Henry, having watched this whole scene unfold right after his own scene, just stood there and sweatdropped.

"Terriermon, you want to tell me what just happened?"

"I'll tell you what happened," Terriermon grinned. "Shinjuku High's Most Eligible Bachelor finally has himself a date! It's about time, Henry!"

Henry, who was deep in thought trying to absorb all that happened, slowly walked into the freshman dorms. He was trying to piece together something that was on the back of his mind, but he couldn't quite think of. There was something about that Yolei girl he knew he should have known, but he couldn't remember. Then he shrugged it off.

It probably wasn't anything important.

  


Next Week: Friday's here and we look at the big game between Odaiba University and Shibuya University. Do Kazu and Kenta have one last thing in store for rival SU? Ryo and Rika run into each other again, but what happens when Kari somehow gets brought into the conversation. If you think Rika hated her NOW…? Renamon's getting sick of cleaning Gatomon's litter box, but a deal's a deal. However, what little idea does Impmon have to help Renamon get even with her rival? Biyomon and Palmon go in to investigate Ms. Mackenzie's room, but will they find anything and, more importantly, will they get caught? What happened to the DigiDestined Digimon that got left for dead in Server after the battle with ChaosGallantmon? Are they all in one piece? And what happens…when Sora gets a new look after getting lathered with Mimi's experimental shampoo? Find out all these answers on the next Digimon: The College Years!

  


Any comments? Then mail me at AmericanCaptor@hotmail.com and don't forget to review below!


	20. Bitter Rivalries

Last Week: Terriermon, Veemon, Patamon, and Wormmon all made it back from Shibuya University and brought back Guilmon safely with no casualties…except Davis's car. Izzy talked with Joe, Sora, and Mimi about the mole around Odaiba U and Joe even pointed the finger at Ms. Mackenzie. With no solid evidence, Biyomon and Palmon were volunteered to investigate. Davis got caught eavesdropping on Ryo and Kari and that didn't go over well with Kari at all. While he knew he had a big problem on his hands, Davis focused on another task: helping Ken and Yolei. So he recruited Takato, Henry, and Terriermon to help serenade them. But things didn't exactly go as planned, because the one who ended up getting serenaded…was Kari. When Yolei saw it, she flipped and took it out on Ken. And after a little encouragement from her roommate, Catherine, she asked another guy out. That guy just happened to be Henry.

  


**Digimon: The College Years**

Episode 20- Bitter Rivalries

  


The sun started rising on a beautiful Friday morning. Sora was sleeping with a towel wrapped around her head, turban-style. For the last few days, she had allowed Mimi to lather her with her experimental homemade shampoo. Although there weren't any physical differences just yet, Sora did feel refreshed and rejuvenated.

Sora got up from her twin-sized bed, making sure not to wake Biyomon, who was sleeping right next to her. Slowly, she carefully tiptoed over to the mirror. She began to picture a fresh head of lovely auburn hair on her head. She began daydreaming of standing out under the sun in a green dress, barefoot in the grass, twirling with her arms outstretched, letting her revitalized hair flow in the wind. The thought made her feel so alive.

Not wanting to wait another second, Sora unwrapped the towel and removed it from her head. Then…she looked in the mirror…and gasped…

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!"

Biyomon immediately woke up from that scream. "Sora! Sora, what's……AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!"

Palmon, who had been sleeping by the window, woke up next. "Huh? What's all the……AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!"

Mimi started grumbling from her bed. "Why is everybody screaming?" She slowly sat up and groggily rubbed her eyes. "Can't a girl get some……AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!"

By now, Mimi and the two Digimon were screaming at the horror of what they were seeing. Sora was just scared speechless now. She wanted to believe this was a horrible nightmare and she would wake up any minute now. But the terrible fact was that this was no dream. This was very real. The horror was real. And the reality was that there was something very wrong with Mimi's shampoo.

"Mimi…I'm……I'm……I'm………"

* * *

Kenta heard loud screaming coming from upstairs. It was enough to wake him up, along with probably the rest of the building. But to his surprise, he saw that Kazu was already wide awake. He was looking through a large notebook with Guardromon.

"Kazu, since when do you get up so early? Your first class isn't for another few hours."

"Kenta, of course I'm up early today! Don't you know what tonight is? It's the night everybody's been waiting for! The night Odaiba U wipes the floor with Shibuya U! And I, for one, can't wait for tonight."

Kenta wanted to believe that Kazu was referring to the Odaiba Dragons getting the better of the Shibuya Samurais on the soccer field. But since this was Kazu, he had his doubts.

"What do you mean by that, Kazu?"

Kazu chuckled. "If Nicho thought he'd get the last laugh, he's got another thing coming. We've got something in store for him AND the Shibuya soccer team."

"I'm almost afraid to ask," Kenta sighed. "What are we doing?"

"Tonight, we pull Prank #49-D."

Kenta gulped. "Remind me again, which one's Prank #49-D?"

Kazu whispered it into Kenta's ear. It sounded rotten and sinister. But on the upside, at least it didn't border on illegality this time around. But a thought hit Kenta.

"Kazu, that could actually affect the outcome of the game. It'd kinda be like us cheating."

"They've got it coming!" Kazu shot back. "After the way they kidnapped Guilmon? They're lucky we don't something even MORE drastic than this. Besides, doesn't it sound like fun?"

Kenta thought about it. And the more he thought about it, the funnier it sounded. It would be the best way to fire the final shot in this year's rivalry.

Kenta snickered. "Ok, let's do it! But how do we strike? I mean, for this we need someone small. And last I heard, Terriermon's on really thin ice with Henry."

"So, we don't need Terriermon on this one," Kazu said confidently. "All we need is someone small."

"Like me?" Guardromon chimed in.

Kazu sweatdropped. "No, I mean small, not huge." He looked around, but it didn't take him long to find the perfect guy. "Someone like…"

Kenta turned around and saw exactly who Kazu was staring at. All eyes were now on the sleeping MarineAngemon. If anyone could play it inconspicuous, it was certainly him.

"They'll never see him coming," Kazu grinned.

The small size of MarineAngemon pretty much insured that this would all go off without a hitch. Kenta started snickering again. It wouldn't be long before they struck again in the name of Odaiba U.

* * *

Matt slowly made his way up the stairs. "Do you think it's bad?"

"It's not everyday Sora screams like that," Tai answered. "Whatever it is, it must be big."

It was a slower walk than a funeral procession. Matt was in no hurry to get to his girlfriend's room. Whatever made her scream must have been huge. He put his hand on the doorknob, but then stopped.

"Well…go ahead and knock, Tai."

"Me? Why should *I* knock?"

"Because you've known her longer."

"That doesn't mean anything."

"And I don't want to make her mad. She's used to you doing stupid things. Remember when you threw up in her hat?"

"I wish everyone would stop reminding me of that! We were eight years old!"

"Just knock, Tai!"

Tai relented and knocked on the door. He was met with a harsh 'greeting'.

"GO AWAY!!"

"Sora?" Tai asked. "It's me. Can I come in?"

"Tai? NO! Stay away!"

Matt wanted to say something, but Tai held out his hand, signaling him to keep his mouth shut for the moment.

"What's wrong, Sora?"

"I…I…woke up on the wrong side of the bed, that's all! It's just…uh…um…THAT TIME OF THE MONTH!"

Tai turned to Matt and shrugged. "Well, I'm convinced. Let's get out of here."

"Wait a minute, Tai," Matt whispered. "I know how Sora gets at 'that time of the month'. Trust me, that's not it. It's got to be something else."

Tai smirked. "I have an idea." He cleared his throat. "Ok, Sora! I'll go! Whenever you're feeling better, just give me a call."

Tai walked towards the end of the hall while Matt maintained his position. Obviously Tai knew what was coming. And sure enough, Mimi soon opened the door to see if anybody was around. Once she opened the door, Matt rushed forward and started pushing his way in.

"Mimi! Let go! Let me in!"

"Stay…out of here…Matt!!"

Tai soon came over to back up Matt. The strength of both guys was more than enough to overcome Mimi and they soon forced their way inside. Matt wanted to immediately demand what was going on, but as soon as he saw Sora…he found out.

Upon seeing her, both Matt and Tai screamed. "AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!"

Sora was just about in tears. Matt couldn't believe what he was seeing. The girlfriend he had been seeing for so long, the one he had fallen in love with…

…was bald as a cueball.

"Matt!!" Sora sobbed. "I'm…I'm…BALD!!"

Sora rushed over and started crying on Matt's shoulder. Whenever Sora cried like this, Matt would run his hand through her hair. Only now, there was no hair to run his hand through.

Matt only had one question. "How did THIS happen?!"

Sora raised her head from Matt's shoulder and immediately pointed the finger at her best friend. "This is your fault, Mimi! You and your stupid homemade shampoo!!"

"I-I didn't know this would happen!" Mimi stammered. "But this isn't totally my fault! Joe was the one who added those special ingredients! He knew they weren't tested!"

Sora hesitated for a moment and thought about that. "Hey…that's right! Joe's the one who experimented with Digimon fur! It must have been unstable! Wait 'til I get my hands on him!!" She started crying into Matt's shoulder again. "Oh, MATT!! What am I gonna do?! I can't show my face like this!!"

"Technically, there's nothing wrong with your face," Tai cut in. "It's just your cranium you should be worried about."

"Sora, don't listen to the embodiment of sensitivity over here," Matt said sweetly, as he smacked Tai upside the head with his other hand. "This isn't the end of the world."

Sora didn't feel comforted. "Matt, maybe you haven't noticed, but my head looks like an egg! How am I supposed to go to class like this?! How am I supposed to go ANYWHERE like this?!"

It looked like Tai would be the one with an idea. He looked around and spotted Mimi's closet. "Mimi, do you have a wig lying around?"

"I have two blondes and a brown," Mimi answered. "Why do you ask?"

Matt started to get the same idea. "I get it! Sora, you can wear one of Mimi's wigs and one of her hats and no one will ever know the difference. Trust me, this doesn't have to get around."

Sora took her head off Matt's shoulder and sniffled. "You really think it's that easy?"

"Sure it is!" someone else chimed in. It was Biyomon, who was wearing one of Mimi's wigs and hats. "Maybe it doesn't look so good on me, but you'd look fabulous!"

Sora walked over and picked up her partner. "You know just how to make me feel better. Thank you, Biyomon. Ok, I'll do it."

Sora took the wig-hat ensemble off her partner's head and put it on herself. It was a little different for Matt to see Sora like that, but he wasn't about to say anything stupid to shatter her self-confidence anymore than it already had been.

"How do I look?" Sora asked timidly.

Matt gave an encouraging smile. "You look beautiful."

"Never looked better," Tai added.

"That look is SO you!" Mimi grinned.

It wasn't much, but it was enough to put a smile of Sora's face. She even let out a small giggle, definitely a good sign. It looked like poor, bald Sora Takenouchi would be just fine.

But for Matt, this would take a lot of getting used to.

* * *

It took a long time. After what felt like an eternity, Agumon got through the last of the rocks that had buried him. Gabumon soon emerged right behind him. The battle with ChaosGallantmon was an intense one. But even after having Digivolved into Mega along with Gabumon thanks to the help of Gennai's mysterious box, it still wasn't enough. Whoever this ChaosGallantmon came from, he was a force to be feared.

"Are you ok?" Agumon coughed.

"I feel like I was hit by one of those human trucks," Gabumon groaned. He looked around and surveyed the area. "Everybody's gone. She's escaped."

"Agumon! Gabumon!"

Agumon looked over towards the distance and saw Hawkmon and Armadillomon running over to them. They had run pretty far off.

"You guys just ran away?" Agumon asked in disbelief.

Hawkmon stopped to catch his breath. "We didn't run away. We tried to follow them and see where to find them. But we didn't get very far, because ChaosGallantmon spotted us."

"But you should have seen what happened AFTER he caught us!" Armadillomon added.

"What happened?" Gabumon inquired.

"We knew we didn't stand a chance at the rookie level," Hawkmon began. "So we tried to find the nearest hiding place. For lack of a better place to hide, Armadillomon found a cave by a field of cacti. Of course, we knew if ChaosGallantmon found us there, he'd discombobulate us!"

"So we pretty much did the only thing we could do," Armadillomon continued. "We closed our eyes and hoped he wouldn't find us. It didn't help, because we heard footsteps coming in. But that's when we started hearing a struggle. Something was fighting that guy and whatever it was had the upper hand for a while. ChaosGallantmon wanted to attack, but if he did, he would have sealed us all in the cave with no escape, so he just ran off."

"Somebody had saved us!" Hawkmon added. "But we didn't get to see who, because whomever it was had quickly gone as quickly as he or she had arrived."

"Some story," Gabumon thought. "But I guess you two lost them from there. It's too bad. Not only did we lose the battle, but we have nowhere to go from here."

"I think we DO have somewhere to go from here!" Agumon argued. "Gennai sent us out to get information and now we have it! It's time to tell someone!"

"But we don't even know where Gennai is," Armadillomon pointed out. "He could be anywhere. He said he'd be trying to contact the Digimon Sovereigns in the four regions."

Agumon was undaunted. "Then if we can't find Gennai, we'll do the next best thing. We'll tell the DigiDestined! All we have to do is contact them!"

It looked to be clear sailing from there. Technically, the only job left was to report their findings. But Agumon knew things were far from over. The Digimon Empress and ChaosGallantmon were a major threat. They had to be stopped and soon.

* * *

Friday night was here and everyone was heading off to the culmination of the big rivalry: the soccer game between the Odaiba Dragons and the Shibuya Samurais. However, there was no break for Biyomon and her good buddy, Palmon. They had been drafted into an espionage mission without any say in the matter whatsoever.

Of course, all it took for Palmon was to be offered those dresses Sora and Mimi were making and she just jumped at the chance to volunteer them both. Now Biyomon found herself sneaking into Ms. Mackenzie's room to snoop around for any potential damaging evidence that could reveal her to be the mole they were looking for.

Like many others that night, Ms. Mackenzie was catching the game. The opportunity wouldn't get any better. So Biyomon took one of Sora's hairpins and picked the lock of the door, allowing herself access to the room. She tiptoed in with Palmon right behind her.

The two Digimon looked around the room, finding it very clean…and different. There were artifacts everywhere. Among them were old vases, sculptures, and paintings.

"Hey, Biyomon! Check this out!"

Biyomon turned her head to see a small mirror by the closet door. It was like a funhouse mirror. Palmon's reflection was distorted to make her look taller.

"I look like a beanstalk," she giggled. "Try it!"

Biyomon walked over to the mirror and gasped when she saw her reflection. She looked a lot taller…and a little chunkier.

Palmon snickered. "That's a good look for you, Big Bird."

Biyomon flinched as she tried to tuck in her stomach. "I'm not that fat, am I?"

"You know, you're starting to sound more like Mimi than Sora."

Biyomon sweatdropped. "I guess you're right." She shrugged that off. "You know, we really should be looking for something that we could use. But all I see is just a bunch of old artsy-type stuff. I don't think this is our mole."

"If she isn't, then that's two strikes against Joe today," Palmon grinned. "What do you think Sora will do to him when she sees him at the game?"

"I don't want to know," Biyomon sighed. "Sora can have a nasty side that nobody likes to see."

Palmon started snooping around Ms. Mackenzie's desk. There were papers neatly stacked all over, but what caught her interest was a large brown book. Curious, Palmon opened it up and started browsing.

"Hey, Biyomon! Look at this! It's her journal!"

"Really? Let me see!"

Biyomon and Palmon both gathered around the journal and looked through its pages. If there was ever a place to find any kind of incriminating evidence, it was in a personal journal. The journal started from a couple of days before the fall semester started and mostly contained harmless stuff. Then they reached an interesting page.

"Check this out," Palmon grinned. She began reading the passage. "Today, I literally ran into a grad student and we knocked each other over. Our stuff fell all over the place, including one of the guy's stuffed animals. It was another one of those strange stuffed animals that I've been seeing. It's unusual to say the least. But I have a feeling that there are more to these alleged stuffed animals than meets the eye."

"I knew it," Biyomon muttered. "She sees right through us!"

"Let's see what else it says. Check out the last sentence. I don't know who the guy was. I believe he said his name was Joe. He sure looks like the nervous type."

"Add 'whiny' and 'always complaining' and that's Joe in a nutshell."

Palmon turned the page and stopped after a few turns. "Look at this one! Today, that Joe guy came back to my room. He came back for that gadget he had lost when we bumped into each other. If it's what I think it is, then the prophecy is true."

"Prophecy?" Biyomon repeated. "Palmon, let me see!"

"Scoot over! I can't read with your head over my shoulder! Your beak's poking me!"

While the two Digimon fought over reading position, they froze when the heard footsteps coming from outside. Someone was coming from outside. Then they heard the jingling of keys. It had to be Ms. Mackenzie and they both knew that they had to hide before they were caught.

Both Digimon scattered. Palmon ran over to the statues that were about her size. They were abstract statues of ogres and dragons and such mythical creatures. Palmon just stood in the middle and froze in a pose. Biyomon ran towards a large lamp. She stood in front of it and put the lampshade over her head.

The door finally opened. Ms. Mackenzie had obviously arrived early. She walked in and left her shoes at the door and her coat on the rack. She let her hair down and walked towards her desk, but stopped at the statues. Palmon maintained her poise while the RD examined the statues, making sure to give a long stare to the certain lifelike green plantlike statue.

"When did I decide to bring in THAT ugly thing?" she muttered to herself. "It's an eyesore."

Biyomon tried to hold in her snickers. All it took to get her back to a state of seriousness was seeing Ms. Mackenzie walk towards the lamp. The RD turned the lamp switch on, not having noticed Biyomon's body underneath the lampshade.

"Click!"

The lamp turned on and what Biyomon didn't realize that her head was giving off a bird-headed silhouette. She was lucky that Ms. Mackenzie was already walking back to her desk and hadn't noticed. When she sat at her desk, Biyomon carefully lifted the lampshade over her head and put it back on the lamp.

As soon as Ms. Mackenzie had her back turned to write in her journal, Biyomon made a break for it. Seeing the coast clear, Palmon also made a run for the door. Both Digimon made it and sneakily slipped out the door.

The espionage mission was cut short. It didn't look like this was their mole, but it did look like she knew something. This would be something the DigiDestined would be interested in hearing.

* * *

Ms. Mackenzie heard the door close softly behind her. She didn't turn her head or pay any attention to it. She just focused on her journal. Taking out an old-style feather pen, she dipped it in a small jar of ink and started writing:

  


**Dear Journal,**

Two of them just ran out of the door. It appears that they were trying to find something here. I wonder what it was? And I wonder if it has anything to do with the prophecy? All I can do is wait. There's nothing I can do to bring the prophecy forth. When the time comes, the ultimate battle will come.

* * *

Nightfall had already come. Rika, Jeri, and Kari were all heading out to the game (albeit separately) and Calumon was peacefully taking a nap on Jeri's bed. In the meantime, Renamon just found herself over at Gatomon's litter box, cleaning up the mess as was stipulated. To say the job was unsanitary would be the ultimate understatement. This job, pun fully intended, stunk.

"Did you ever picture yourself in that position, toots?"

Renamon grumbled. "Go away, Impmon. Can't you see I'm…cleaning?"

"You didn't answer my question," Impmon persisted. "When did you go from fierce, kick-butt warrior to…playing maid for a housecat?"

"Since I lost a bet," Renamon answered dryly. "A bet, which I might add, you helped me LOSE!"

"Are you still mad at me about that?" Impmon smirked. "Come on, Renamon. Why be mad at me, when ya know the one you really want to be mad at is the cat?"

"You know as well as I do that I'd love nothing better to take out all my frustration on Gatomon. I didn't think it was possible, but in the years since I last saw, she's gotten even MORE irritating. And she's gotten very conniving…like you."

"Complimenting her will get you nowhere," Impmon grinned. "But ya know, I've been thinking, hot stuff. I've been a first-class jerk for turning on you for a box of yarns. I mean, friendship should mean more than that. Friends should stick together no matter what, right?"

"What are you getting at?" Renamon asked suspiciously.

"I mean, if you really want to get back at Gatomon over there, now would be the perfect time. Think about it. The humans ain't around and she's sleeping like a baby."

Renamon peered over and saw Gatomon purring and turning over at the foot of Kari's bed. She was fast asleep. This really was the best time to strike. Renamon wouldn't get another opportunity like this for a long time and she'd be a fool not to take it. But then she remembered something.

"I can't. I'd get sent home if I laid a hand on her."

"Who says ya gotta lay a hand on her?" Impmon pointed out. "Maybe ya can't touch her, but nobody said anything about…giving her a new look."

Impmon grinned mischievously and held up an electric razor. The little scamp wanted Renamon to use it on Gatomon.

"I don't know," Renamon muttered skeptically. "I prefer to deal with my problems face-to-face. I would much rather deal with the cat in my own way, personally."

"You can't do that, babe. Rika and Kari said that's a no-go. This is the best way you can get back at her. And don't ya want that? After all that ego she's been showing ya? After all the times she's been beating you? After all the times you've cleaned her own filth? After all the times she's called ya 'Foxy'?"

"I HATE IT when she calls me that!" Renamon growled. She took the electric razor from Impmon. "Gimme that!"

Renamon slowly stalked over towards the bed that Gatomon was lying. Gatomon was serenely in dreamland, even occasionally talking in her sleep about a fish she just couldn't catch. Renamon wanted to start shearing, but the buzz from the razor would be sure to wake her up. Impmon soon remedied that problem by sneakily putting a pair of earmuffs over Gatomon's feline ears.

With nothing to wake her up now, Renamon turned on the razor…

* * *

The game was about to start. MarineAngemon couldn't believe he found himself drafted in this mission. Usually, it was Terriermon who found himself doing this kind of dirty work. But the Digimon prankster was in hot water with Henry. And without anyone else of sufficient size, it was MarineAngemon who was volunteered for this prank.

He had a small satchel over his shoulder that held up all the supplies he needed. And now he found himself…outside the visiting Shibuya Samurai's locker room. When the coast was clear, he moved in unnoticed. The soccer team was showering and getting ready for the game. This was the chance MarineAngemon needed.

The lockers were all open and inside each locker was a soccer uniform and jockstrap. MarineAngemon took out powder and started sprinkling it on each pair of shorts and each jockstrap. In a matter of moments, the mini-sized Mega had covered every pair of shorts and every jockstrap.

He did it all just in time, because the showers slowly started turning off one-by-one. Fearing he would soon be discovered, he rushed over towards some towels that were all thrown together in a pile. It turned out to be a mistake.

Each member of the team started stampeding over to the towels and pulling them out one-by-one. When the towel from underneath MarineAngemon was pulled, he spun over and landed on his face. Some of the powder in the satchel had flown up in the air. The remaining powder landed all over MarineAngemon.

The little one's eyes widened when he realized what would soon happen.

* * *

Davis felt like tensions were about to rise to an all-time high. He was sitting there with Takato, Kazu, and Kenta and there were a couple of others coming. Tonight's game should have gotten his mind off what was quickly becoming a 'soap opera' life for everybody on campus. But there were obviously some issues that were going to be brought out to the open.

"Do you see either of them?" Davis asked nervously.

Takato looked around. "Henry's at the concession stand. I don't see Ken anywhere."

"That's good, because…"

"Hey, Davis."

Davis looked to his left to see Ken standing right there with Wormmon on his shoulder. He took a seat and looked out onto the field.

"I've been trying to get a hold of Yolei all day. I haven't gotten in touch with her since your whole karaoke disaster."

"It wasn't a disaster for me," Davis grinned. "Everything went great with me and Kari." He then noticed Ken glaring a hole right into him. "Oh…but I know it was meant for you and Yolei. I'm sorry things got messed up."

"It's ok, Davis. I'm sorry I snapped at you. I know you always try your best, even if things don't always turn out the way you hope. Besides, it's not like anything really bad came out of it, right?"

Ken smiled, but Davis and Takato just exchanged nervous glances. Henry came back and, immediately upon spotting Ken, got a huge sweatdropped on the back of his head. Everyone was aware of what was going on…except for Ken.

Davis started to think that maybe he was just blowing things out of proportion. If things went like this all night, then there would be nothing to worry about. Of course, if it was just a night with the guys, then there wouldn't be a problem.

Unfortunately, that's when the girls showed up.

Ken smiled and sat up. "Yolei! You made it!"

Yolei and Jeri arrived. Jeri walked over by Takato, but Yolei walked right past Ken. She stopped and sat on Henry's lap. "We still on for this weekend?"

Henry blinked. "Uh…?"

"I'll take that as a 'yes'."

Ken's jaw dropped open. "Yolei! What is this?!"

"I'm going out with Henry this weekend. You don't have a problem with that, do you?"

"What?! But…you're with me!"

"You know, I used to think that, Ken. But let's just say stuff happens."

"What do you mean 'stuff happens'?"

As if on cue, someone came up behind Ken and wrapped him up in a hug. Of course, it was Rosa. Ken could only sweatdrop.

"I knew I'd find you here, Ken! I just wanted to say hello!"

Ken turned around and sighed. "Rosa…"

Rosa cut Ken off with a well-timed peck on the lips. "I'm sorry I can't stay, but I have to find my mom. I think she's with the faculty. But I'll definitely see you later, mi amor."

Rosa happily skipped off and Ken made the biggest mistake he could possibly make.

He blushed.

Having seen enough, Yolei reached over and grabbed Henry by the shirt collar. She pulled him up and planted a big kiss on his lips. After that hot kiss, she dropped him by the collar and he fell into his seat.

"You brought this all on yourself, Ken Ichijouji," Yolei growled. "I hope you and Rosa are VERY happy!"

With that, she turned and stormed off. Ken just watched in disbelief. So did Davis. He knew things would get intense, but he didn't think he'd see all that unfold before his eyes.

Henry just blinked. "How did *I* get mixed up in all this?!"

Ken was still stunned. "I can't believe she did that."

"Well, to tell the truth, you sorta did have it coming," Jeri said as she sat down.

"Ok, explain that one to me," Takato cut in. "How exactly do you come out with that logic?"

"Think about it, Takato," Jeri explained. "Rosa's obviously making advances towards Ken, but he's not making any effort to spurn them. So Yolei naturally feels threatened. And why wouldn't she be? If Ken isn't doing anything to stop these advances, then it's clear that he feels something for Rosa."

Ken's eyes widened. "I do not!"

"I don't know about that one," Jeri said skeptically. "Why haven't you said anything?"

"She's a junior in high school. I can't just hurt her feelings like that."

"Well, you'd better do something soon. The more you let this go on, the closer Yolei gets to dumping you for Henry."

"How did *I* get mixed up in all this?" Henry asked again.

"Isn't it obvious?" Kazu grinned. "You're the irresistible bachelor. A woman can't resist your charm."

"What charm?!" Henry cried. "I didn't even DO anything!"

"Uh…maybe you should keep your distance from Jeri," Takato chuckled nervously. "I wouldn't want her falling for you, Henry."

Henry just shook his head and buried his face in his hands.

"You have to stop this, Henry," Ken pleaded. "You have to tell Yolei you aren't interested."

"I already agreed to go out with her…sort of. It's more like she agreed for me. So I guess we're going out this weekend. Maybe you'll get lucky and something will go wrong."

A light bulb appeared over Davis's head. "Hey, that's it! Henry, you're a genius!"

"So now I'm an irresistible bachelor AND a genius?"

"What are you thinking about, Davis?" Ken asked nervously.

"I'm thinking about making Henry's date with Yolei a total disaster! If Yolei has the worst date of her life, she'll realize just what a good thing she has with you!"

Ken thought about that. "You know something? As twisted at that might sound…that actually isn't such a bad idea."

Henry blinked. "Uh…what?"

"Maybe there are certain things Davis can't do right, but there are plenty of things he can do WRONG! This might actually be crazy enough to work!"

Takato leaned over and whispered into Henry's ear. "Maybe you should just nod, Henry."

Henry started nodding with a blank look on his face. Davis was feeling very proud of himself. After causing trouble with the serenade fiasco, he was ready for another fiasco. Only this disaster would make things right again.

* * *

Sora sat beside Matt and tried to lay low. The last thing she wanted was to draw attention to herself. Although she was wearing one of Mimi's blond wigs and one of her hats, she still didn't want to be seen. One of her worst nightmares had come true on this day. She had always taken her head of hair for granted and now it was gone. Underneath the wig, her head was a shiny dome.

Matt sighed. "Tai, do you see him anywhere?"

"Don't ask me. Mimi's the one who always knows where he is."

Mimi shook her head. "I haven't seen Joe all day. Knowing him, he probably went off somewhere to study for the whole day. He said he'd show up, so just keep looking."

Somebody soon arrived, but it wasn't Joe. It was Izzy, who was carrying Tentomon and his laptop. He was wearing a white lab coat, so he must have just arrived from a class.

"Izzy, have you seen Joe around?" Matt asked.

"He's probably studying somewhere and lost track of time. He said he'd be here. Hey Sora, have you done something different with your hair? It looks like you dyed it."

Sora flinched and pulled her hat to cover her face. She was embarrassed to even be out there and just wanted to go back to her room. If Matt hadn't insisted on her accompanying him, she wouldn't even be there.

"It's not dye, Izzy," Tai muttered.

"It's not? What else could it be? I know Sora isn't a natural blond. Hey! Is that a result of Mimi's shampoo?"

Tai sweatdropped. "That's…one way of putting it."

Mimi leaned over and whispered the ugly fact into Izzy's ear. Izzy looked rather shocked.

"Oh……"

Sora nodded. "Joe has a lot of explaining to do! Him and his stupid special experiments!"

Izzy put Tentomon down and opened up his laptop. "This is very fascinating information. I didn't think Digimon fur was so unstable that it could cause…"

"Don't even say it, Izzy!" Sora snapped. "Somebody might hear you!"

"Hear what?"

Sora's eyes widened when she saw Joe coming up the bleachers with Gomamon in his arms. Sora stood up and showed the most energy she had shown all day. She ran up to Joe and poured her soda on his head.

Joe was in a state of shock. "What was that for?"

"That's for you and your 'special ingredients'!"

Joe obviously hadn't noticed what happened. "I take it you didn't like Mimi's shampoo. I don't see what's wrong with it. You're hair's a perfect blond now."

Izzy walked over and whispered the terrible fact into Joe's ear. As soon as Joe heard it, he gulped and took a step back.

"Sora…are you really….?"

"Don't even say it, Joe! Yes I am!"

Joe gulped. "I had no idea! It looked perfectly safe!"

"Joe, don't even speak to me!" Sora huffed. "I can't think of anything that could possibly be more embarrassing than….this!"

Matt looked out on the soccer field and started snickering. "Uh…hey guys, look at that!"

Mimi looked out, gasped, and put her hands over her mouth. "Please tell me they aren't…"

* * *

Davis looked out onto the soccer field. "Uh…are they doing what I think they're doing?"

Like everyone else, Davis didn't know what to make of what was going on out on the soccer field. The Shibuya Samurais had come out from the visiting locker room. But they were all…scratching their crotch areas. It was a bizarre scene to say the least.

"They're all…scratching," Takato muttered.

It didn't take long to figure out what was going on. Everyone figured it out as soon as Kazu and Kenta started laughing triumphantly and exchanged a high five.

"It worked!" Kenta exclaimed.

"I knew it would!" Kazu grinned.

"What did you guys do?" Henry asked in disbelief.

"A thing of beauty known as Prank #49-D!" Kazu explained. "Infiltrate the visiting locker room and pour itching powder on every single jockstrap."

Jeri gasped. "How awful!" Then she thought about it and started giggling. "Actually, it's pretty funny now that I think about it."

"That's hitting below the belt," Takato cracked.

"I'm almost afraid to ask, but how did you get into their locker room?" Henry asked.

"Don't worry, Henry," Kazu said nonchalantly. "We didn't use Terriermon this time. MarineAngemon was more than willing to play ball."

"Where IS MarineAngemon?" Kenta pointed out.

It didn't take long to find out. Someone flew up to Kenta from under the bleachers where they were all sitting. It was MarineAngemon…who was scratching all over.

"MarineAngemon! What's wrong?"

MarineAngemon answered by scratching everywhere.

Kazu furrowed his brow. "I think he got into the itching powder."

Kenta opened up his pocket. "Aw, I'm sorry, buddy. You'll be ok once I get you into the bathroom. Let's go, Kazu."

Kazu got to his feet. "I was getting hungry, anyway. Might as well get up."

All eyes were on Kazu and Kenta as they walked out. Obviously, they weren't the type to let anyone get the last laugh on them. And they had pulled a doozy to get the last word in against Shibuya University.

* * *

Rika was late for the game and from the sound of the live crowd, it was obvious that the action had begun. She wanted to hurry up and get there, but she sensed someone behind her. She stopped and sighed before turning around. She knew very well who was behind her.

"What's up, Ryo?"

Ryo chuckled. "How'd you know, Rika?"

"Only you would have that kind of presence, Ryo. That kind of ANNOYING presence. You heading to the game, too?"

"As a matter of fact, I am."

Rika sighed. "I guess you can come with me." She started walking. "But don't start calling this a date, Ryo Akiyama!"

"I wouldn't think of it," Ryo smirked. "So where's your roommate?"

"Jeri? She's with the goggle head."

"No, I meant your other roommate. Where's Kari?"

Rika raised an eyebrow. "Why do you want to know where Kari is?"

"I thought she'd be joining us."

"Are you kidding me? I can barely stand having YOU around! I can only handle one pest at a time! Why would you want her around, anyway?"

"I got to know her and she sounds like a nice girl…"

"Wait a second! What do you mean you got to know her?"

"Well…we had a nice talk in your room and we had lunch together the next day."

Rika scowled. "Did she say anything about me?"

"Rika…you hardly entered into the conversation at all," Ryo grinned. "This was just a whole 'get better acquainted' sort of thing. We got along really well."

"I'm not surprised," Rika said sourly. "You're both really annoying. OF COURSE you two would get along."

Rika peered over past Ryo and saw Kari walking over through the crowd. She hadn't seen them yet. Rika wouldn't be able to take a night with BOTH Ryo and Kari. If she could get inside, maybe she wouldn't see them.

"Uh…Ryo, let's get inside. I think the game's started."

Rika was in a hurry now, but as was typical, Ryo seemed to do exactly the opposite of what Rika wanted. He was barely budging, even though she tried to lead him in by the arm. They only made it another few steps before Kari spotted them.

"Rika!"

Rika grumbled under her breath and stopped in her tracks. She turned around and wanted to put on a fake smile. But seeing Kari's sickeningly cheerful demeanor just made Rika scowl even more.

"I thought you were already here! Didn't you go with Davis?"

Kari shook her head. "Oh…I had some errands to run. I said I'd meet up with Davis here." She turned to Ryo and smiled. "Hi Ryo! I didn't expect to see you here."

"Oh yeah, I got here a little while ago. For a while there, I didn't think you'd show up. What kind of errands were running, Kari? Stuff as in homework?"

Kari sweatdropped. "Now that I think about it, I still need to start on my essay." Then she thought about and shrugged. "But I'm already here. Why go back? I can always start on it tomorrow."

"Are we just going to chatter all night?" Rika growled. "I'd like to get in sometime before next week!"

Rika started walking in and Ryo and Kari were slowly following behind. If there was one thing Rika had, it was sharp hearing, because she started to hear those two whispering amongst themselves.

"So did you tell her?"

"Uh…I don't think that's a good idea right now."

"She has to find out eventually."

"When the time is right. Trust me."

If there was ever anything to raise Rika's curiosity, that was it. What could that have possibly meant?

Rika shook that out of her mind and kept walking. It couldn't possibly be what she thought it was.

At least she hoped it wasn't.

* * *

Kazu waited outside the bathroom eating a chili dog. "Kenta, what happened? Did you fall in or something?"

"I'm taking my time! That's the last time I have more than five of those tacos. And I still have to…wash my hands, you know."

Kazu knew that was secret code for "I have to wash the itching powder off MarineAngemon". He had to give the little guy credit where credit was due. He took one for the team that night. And the sweet reward was sweet. The entire soccer team still had a serious case of 'jock itch'.

It didn't take Kazu long to celebrate the sweet taste of victory with a chili dog and a bag of popcorn. In fact, he was so wrapped up in his eating that he didn't notice a little birdlike Digimon drop a note on his popcorn bag. The Digimon waited patiently behind a wall before finally giving Kazu a hint.

"¡Arriba!"

Kazu looked around, but didn't find any sign of life. Then he looked down and saw the note sitting on his popcorn bag. He picked it up and started to read it to himself.

"Hmm…To the two wannabe pranksters. I know you two had something to do with that itching powder stunt. Very creative. But a real prankster is prepared for any and all situations and is always ready to immediately retaliate. Sometimes it's more fun to strike #2, if you catch my drift. I'll leave it up to you to figure out just what I did. Signed, Nicho. P.S. Shibuya U rules."

Kazu wanted more than anything to dismiss this as just a scare tactic. There was no way Nicho could have been a step ahead of them. It wasn't possible.

Then he thought about it and started to get a little nervous. He thought about the cryptic message in that letter. He thought hard about what he could have done, but it didn't take Kazu long to find out.

****BOOM****

Kazu's eyes widened as he poked his head into the men's bathroom. Each and every toilet and stall in the bathroom exploded and went up like individual geysers. Kazu immediately caught on to Nicho's prank.

"Cherry bombs!"

"KAZU!!!"

Kazu gulped. "Uh oh. Kenta? You ok?"

That question was answered when Kenta hit the tiles on the bathroom floor hard with an audible thud. Kazu stepped over to see if his friend was ok and was met up with an unpleasant sight.

"Kenta…there's already a full moon outside and one's enough for me, thanks."

Kenta slowly got to his feet and pulled his pants up. MarineAngemon tumbled out of his pocket and looked to be dizzied by the sudden combustion of the toilets.

Kenta groaned. "Kazu…what happened?"

Kazu crumbled up the note. "Nicho happened! He got us again!"

"No way! So he had something ready for us this whole time?"

Kazu snarled. "Obviously, he did. But if he thinks this is the last he's heard of us, then he's got another thing coming." He pointed triumphantly in the air. "Nobody makes a dope out of BlackWarKazumon!"

Unfortunately, Kazu had his back turned and Kenta had his eyes on the floor. Neither one of them saw that same birdlike Digimon come sneaking up behind Kazu. And with a swift tug, he pulled Kazu's pants down and ran off.

"¡Arriba!"

Kazu and Kenta looked around. Kazu suddenly noticed a draft.

"AAH!"

As Kazu reached down to pull his pants up, somebody was chuckling by the bathroom door. Kazu and Kenta looked over to see it was Nicho.

"You know, I noticed this prank war was getting a little ugly," Nicho grinned. "That's why I was hoping you'd be willing to turn the other cheek, but that's not quite the cheek I had in mind. Free tip, amateurs: quit while you're behind." And as quick as he arrived, Nicho sped off. "Shibuya U rules!"

His mind filling up with frustration at the thought of having been outsmarted, Kazu just reached down to pull up his pants. Of course the fact that he WAS outsmarted had him so distracted that he couldn't even keep himself coordinated and fell over. He wouldn't let the prank wars end like this.

After all, the school year was still young.

  


Next Week: Saturday comes and that means Catherine's about to go out with Tai and TK. But for two guys trying to compete for a French girl's affections, how ugly will things get? And speaking of things getting ugly, Henry's still not sure how he got into a date with Yolei, but he did and that time has arrived. Ken and Davis fully intend to make the night the worst date of Yolei's life, but does Terriermon have other ideas? Meanwhile, Agumon and Gabumon finally reach their DigiDestined partners to report what they saw. And just how out of control did Renamon get with the electric razor? Find out on the next Digimon: The College Years!

  


Any comments? Then mail me at AmericanCaptor@hotmail.com and don't forget to review below! And to Elaine...HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! ^_^


	21. The Compatibility Test

Last Week: Sora was hoping to wake up Friday morning with a head of rejuvenated hair. Instead, she woke up with a shiny bald head! Later on, things broke loose around the time of the big game. Biyomon and Palmon tried to snoop around Ms. Mackenzie's room, but were nearly caught. They managed to escape and went completely unnoticed…or were they? Having gotten sick of cleaning out Gatomon's litter box, Renamon began to let the mischievous Impmon get in her head. The last sound we heard from her was the buzzing of an electric razor. And Henry's caught in the middle of a spat between Ken and Yolei. He's still set to go out with her on Saturday night, but now Ken and Davis have a plan…to make it the worst date of Yolei's life. And Kari ran into Rika and Ryo, who were heading into the game. Rika overhead a small exchange between Ryo and Kari…which made her rather suspicious.

  


**Digimon: The College Years**

Episode 21- The Compatibility Test

  


Yolei tried on a new black dress. "How does this look on me?"

Catherine nodded and sighed. "You look charming. Very nice, Yolei."

"What's eating you, Catherine?" Yolei grinned. "Don't you know what an enviable position you're in? You're about to have a night out with two very handsome guys. Most women would love to be in your place."

"They can have my place!" Catherine huffed as she reached over for a blue dress. She looked in the mirror and shook her head before putting the dress back. "I'd feel much better if those two would stop fighting over me and just give me some space. It's gotten out of control. And frankly, things would be a lot better if you had just asked one of them out for me instead of asking out Henry."

"Henry just happened to be in the right place at the right time," Yolei said. "And besides, I didn't want to deprive you of a fun night out."

"Oh yes…fun for all," Catherine muttered sarcastically. She took out a green dress and shuddered before putting it back. "I wish there was an easy way to do this. I wish there was a way to make my decision a little easier."

Yolei suddenly got an idea. She walked towards her bed, which had a huge mess underneath it. Amazingly, among the clutter of dirty clothes and junk, she found exactly what she was looking for. She took an old "Seventeen" magazine. She turned to page 99 and found just the thing that would help Catherine on this night.

"Here. Try this."

Catherine took the magazine and sweatdropped. "The Compatibility Test? Yolei, has it really come to this? Now I'm going to judge these two based on a cheesy magazine quiz?"

"Pretty much."

Catherine shrugged. "Beats any of my other ideas."

"All you have to do is memorize these questions. And just at any random time, ask one of them and see how they answer. Keep a mental note of who's got the most points and, at the end of night, dump whoever loses."

"Does that really work?" Catherine asked skeptically.

"Hey…I've seen this work with some people."

"Oh yeah? Who?"

Yolei hastily changed the subject. "How does this dress look on me?"

"I already told you! You look charming!"

"Oh yeah. In that case, I'd better go meet Henry. Good luck on your date."

"Yolei, don't walk out that…"

Yolei zipped out of the room. She didn't want to have to make up anything else. Besides, she was already late for her date. Henry was waiting.

* * *

"I don't know about this, Takato. Should I go through with this?"

To say Henry, dressed in a long-sleeved shirt and khakis, was nervous about this would be an understatement. It wasn't the thought of dating Yolei, but it was the thought of knowing full well that he was nothing more than a decoy. It was obvious that Yolei was only dating him to make Ken jealous while Ken and Davis already told him that they had something planned for this date. Henry must have felt like nothing more than a pawn and Takato sympathized with his friend. Of course, that didn't make the situation any less funny.

"Well, you've got nothing better to do," Takato grinned. "Besides, maybe you'll find a nice girl at the restaurant."

"Oh, that's good. And what am I supposed to say? I'm on a date, but it's really not?"

"Uh…sounds good. I'm sure Yolei will understand."

Just then, someone knocked on the door. Knowing who it was, Henry slowly walked to the door. He opened the door…

"Hey, great to see you! You ready? I'm starved! Let's go!"

Yolei pulled Henry out of the room by the collar in the blink of an eye. Takato snickered as he thought about poor Henry's dilemma. He had a feeling that Henry would not forget this night for a long time.

Takato smiled. "There goes a real ladies' man. I guess it's just the three of us tonight, Guilmon."

Guilmon put on his OU sweater. "Actually, I have to practice."

"Huh? You just practiced yesterday!"

"I know, but we're having one more practice session and the cheerleaders and I are having pizza afterwards."

Takato couldn't believe this. In the span of a few weeks, Guilmon had become one of the most popular guys at the university. And yet nobody had even realized that he wasn't even a student!

"Fine, go on," Takato grumbled. "I'll stay here with Terriermon."

"But Terriermon isn't here, Takato."

Takato blinked. "What do you mean Terriermon isn't here?"

"He said he wanted to do something to help Henry on his date."

Takato's eyes widened. "HELP?"

"Yeah. He wants Henry and this girl to hit it off. He says he wants this to be the best date he ever had…because he wants Henry to remove his punishment."

Takato couldn't believe it. If Terriermon was trying to make this date with Henry the best…and Ken and Davis were trying to make it the worst…

* * *

"I can't believe you did that to me!!" Gatomon shouted for the millionth time.

"I already said I was sorry, cat," Renamon snickered. "How many more times do I have to apologize?"

Gatomon knew her rivalry with Renamon was heated, but she had no idea that things would have ever reached such a fevered pitch. Now Gatomon found herself wearing one of Kari's coats to cover up the job Renamon did with that electric razor.

"Until it grows back! I can't believe you did that to me!! Look, I know I said you had to learn to stop using fighting to solve your problems, but this is NOT what I had in mind!"

"I said I was sorry. I honestly think it's a good look for you."

Gatomon opened up her coat. "You think **THIS** is a good look for me?!?!"

Renamon tried to hold in her laughter, but couldn't. The fox had done quite a job with that electric razor. In fact…she had shaved off all of Gatomon's fur…with the exception of her bikini area. Gatomon was beyond embarrassed that she was nearly left completely bald with the exception of this ersatz fur bikini.

Finally, Renamon just fell over laughing. Gatomon turned around and saw Impmon and Calumon both laughing hysterically. Calumon fell over on his back and was holding his stomach and Impmon was nearly in tears.

Impmon whistled seductively. "Flaunt it, baby!"

Gatomon slapped Impmon upside the head with one of her gloved hands. As for Renamon, she was laughing harder than she ever had been.

"It's nice to see you finally got yourself a sense of humor," Gatomon snarled. "Even if it is a morbid one."

"But technically, I didn't touch you," Renamon pointed out. "It was all the razor, so I'm still here. A rather convenient loophole. Maybe I can't physically tear you to shreds, but I can still make your stay here as 'pleasant' as possible. That is, unless you decide you'd rather go home."

"Oh, you'd like that, wouldn't you?" Gatomon grumbled. "I hope you don't think I'm just going to take this lying down."

"You probably could. And you could get yourself a tan while you're at it," Calumon cracked. That drew even more laughter.

Gatomon shrugged and walked over to Kari, who was sitting at her desk and chewing her pen. Kari was sitting over her laptop, which was opened to a blank Microsoft Word document.

"Kari, how long do you think it'll take for this to grow back?" Gatomon asked.

No response. Kari just chewed her pen.

"Kari?"

Nothing. Kari just kept chewing as the pen got more and more teethmarks.

"KARI!"

Kari finally got out of her trance. "Huh? Did you say something, Gatomon?"

"Will you look at me?!" Gatomon cried indignantly. "I look awful!"

Kari examined Gatomon's body. "Well…I wouldn't go that far. It could be worse. Just don't worry about it too much. It'll grow back soon and in the meantime, I don't want you causing trouble."

"This isn't fair! You're saying I should just let her get away with this?"

Kari didn't get to answer that question because someone knocked on the door. Gatomon felt frustrated that her complaints were going unheard. She wanted to retaliate more than anything.

Kari opened the door and found her roommate. "Oh hi Jeri."

"Kari, I need to go pick some things up at the store. I need you to come with me."

Kari hesitated. "Jeri, I don't know. I really should start…"

"You can tell me all about it on the way to the store."

"Jeri…!"

Jeri dragged Kari out and once again, it looked like the procrastination bug had bitten. Gatomon now found herself alone with Renamon, Impmon, and Calumon since Rika was running some errands back in West Shinjuku.

Gatomon knew she couldn't physically harm Renamon without being forced to go back home. So she just wanted to leave a simple warning.

"I don't know how I'll do it, Foxy. But I'll get you for this."

"Oh, get a tan, whitey," Renamon quipped.

That got a huge laugh out of Impmon. "You hear that, Calumon? Renamon's got jokes!"

"I never thought I'd see the day," Calumon replied.

Gatomon just grumbled under her breath. She wasn't about to take this lying down. The rivalry had just gotten intense.

* * *

On any other night, it would have been a simple night of miniature golf. But for TK, it was so much more. This was his chance to make an impression on lovely Catherine. The only fly in the ointment was knowing that Tai would also be right there and he would obviously have the same goal in mind.

Already TK felt like he was losing points, because he couldn't drive tonight. The car was still in the shop after the whole racing fiasco. However, Tai couldn't take anyone on that motorcycle of his either. TK should have taken that chance to borrow a friend's car, but Ken needed his tonight and Davis's car was also in the shop after the Digimon had their joyride to Shibuya U. Tai, on the other hand, DID borrow a car…from TK's own brother, Matt.

Catherine looked exasperated for whatever reason. It looked like she wasn't into the idea of going out tonight. But here she was, most likely because she didn't want to back out of her promise.

Catherine cleared her throat. "You know, gentlemen, it's nice to finally get away from the pressures of studying. I could use the break." She looked out the window. "Would you look at that? It's a pigeon. You know, I was just curious, what bird would you rather be: the dove or the hawk?"

TK blinked. "Uh…come again?"

"Answer the question.."

TK thought about it. "Uh…dove."

"Sounds like something I'd expect out of you," Tai said. "Just call me a hawk."

"Hmm…very revealing," Catherine muttered to herself.

TK didn't know what to make of any of that. Maybe it was just an ice breaker. Regardless, it momentarily got him to stop thinking about Tai and how his presence would make this night so much harder.

Finally, they reached the new miniature golf course that had just been constructed in Odaiba about a week ago. Tai and TK got out of the car and both raced over to be the first to open Catherine's door.

"I was here first, TK!"

"No, I was!"

"I was!"

"I was!"

While TK and Tai fought over the door, Catherine just groaned and opened the door herself. She stepped out while TK and Tai were still fighting.

"Are you two coming?" Catherine grumbled.

TK and Tai turned to see the open door. Tai sheepishly pushed the door and closed it. Now that they had arrived, they both leisurely made their way into the course.

The course was filling up fast as people ranging from families coming out for a family activity to dating couples arrived. TK and Tai walked up to the register and both slammed down their money at the same time, hoping to be the first to treat. The cashier sweatdropped and took the money before giving them equal change.

When TK was handed his putter, he felt like clubbing Tai over the head. But that wasn't in his good nature, so he restrained himself easily. The three reached the first hole, which was a simple flat strip that banked 45 degrees to the left. Since ladies went first, Catherine took her position and, for TK and Tai, this was the perfect opportunity to look good.

"I can help you with your form, Catherine," TK offered.

"I'm a better golfer than TK," Tai countered. "Let me help."

Catherine groaned again before hitting the ball herself. The ball rolled down the strip and hit the 45 degree bank perfectly in the middle. The ball, decreasing in speed ever so slightly, rolled down the second half of the bank…and fell into the hole. Catherine had hit a hole-in-one.

"I probably should have told you," Catherine grinned. "I've been miniature golfing since I was a little girl back in France. So who wants to go next?"

Tai and TK just blinked and pointed at each other. Finally, TK just shrugged and walked up with his putter. As he hit the ball, some music started sounding over the loudspeaker. The ball rolled down and hit the bank before stopping just short of the hole.

"I do like this song," Catherine suddenly said. "You know, that brings me to something I was thinking of. Who do you find more attractive, Brittany Spears or Mandy Moore?"

Tai was about to take his putt, but stopped upon hearing that question. He gave a confused shrug. "Uh…what?"

TK thought about that. "I don't know. Mandy Moore's the innocent type and I love that kind of girl."

"Brittany Spears," Tai answered. "I love a girl with those kinds of moves!"

Catherine furrowed her brow. "Very interesting, gentlemen."

These questions were…curious, to say the least. TK didn't understand where they came from, but as long as he kept having fun with Catherine, he wouldn't mind.

Of course, he couldn't deny how good a putter she was.

* * *

Davis peeked his head out from his hiding place. "They just sat down."

"Davis, I can't believe you did this," Ken sighed. "What if we get caught?"

Davis knew how to get his mind working when he was motivated and, tonight, he was more than motivated. He borrowed the proper attire for each one of them and had Ken dressed in a gray vest with a red shirt underneath to go with a pair of slacks along with a fake beard. Ken was disguised as a valet.

"You won't get caught if you act naturally," Davis explained. "Just park cars like any other regular valet guy. And I'll be right here in the kitchen."

Davis had a disguise of his own. He was dressed in a chef's outfit and had a fake mustache and oversized chef's hat. Ken had been asking him all night how he pulled this off, but Davis had his methods, which he wouldn't elaborate on.

"Ok, for the sake of argument, let's just say we won't get caught," Ken sighed. "What exactly IS your plan, Davis?"

"It's really easy! All I have to do is try and reenact every little thing that's ever gone wrong on all of MY dates!"

"That could take all night."

Davis sweatdropped. "Ok, then I only chose the most embarrassing moments. So you just stay here and watch the fireworks while I fix everything and I'll make sure Yolei appreciates you a lot more by the end of the night."

Ken smirked. "I'm sure you know EXACTLY what you're doing."

With everyone in position, Davis headed into the restaurant's kitchen. The time for this night to go spiraling down was now.

* * *

Yolei took another sip of her soda. The more she looked at Henry, the more she couldn't help but notice how nervous he looked. She was starting to feel guilty. He had to be an innocent bystander in this whole stupid fight with Ken. He probably didn't even want to be here to begin with.

"Henry…I'm having a really good time."

Henry looked up from his soda and smiled. "Oh…I'm glad you're having fun. I'm having a pretty good time, too."

Yolei was starting to get hungry. But instead of the main course coming out, the chef came out with a giant bowl of soup.

"Hot soup!"

Henry coughed. "Oh…excuse me…"

Henry got out of his chair, but with a bad sense of timing. When he stuck his chair out, it moved right into the chef's path. The chef hit the chair and the bowl of soup flew out of his hand and onto his head.

"HEY!!"

The bowl of soup was now over Henry's head and completely covering his face. When Yolei saw the soup drip from the bowl and his clothes, she should have been shocked…but instead found herself snickering.

"The bowl isn't supposed to go ON ME!!" Henry growled. "It's supposed to go on…………uh……the table!"

The chef turned around and had his back to Yolei and Henry. "Uh, sorry dude…er…monsieur. I'd…better get your meals."

The chef ran off while Henry removed the bowl of soup from his head. Yolei grabbed her napkin and started cleaning Henry up.

"Bad luck?" Yolei asked.

"You might say that," Henry muttered.

After wiping Henry off, Yolei sat down. "Don't worry about it. It's not like anything else could go wrong, right?"

* * *

Davis walked back into the kitchen, avoiding the other chefs as he went along. He was supposed to spill the soup on Yolei, but inadvertently dumped it on Henry. But it was only a minor setback, because that wasn't all Davis had up his sleeve. He got the main course ready and if there was anything he had learned on some of his most disastrous dates, it was that bad food usually made for a bad time.

With that in mind, Davis made sure to get only the most burnt steaks he could find. The steaks he found for Henry and Yolei were nearly pitch black. He grabbed the metal pans and covered the steaks, but didn't quite get to deliver them just yet. He put the entrées on a cart just as he got a call.

"Hey chef! Your soup's bubbling!"

Davis turned around and realized they meant him. And indeed his soup was bubbling and on the verge of spilling. He wasted no time in attending to his soup, while leaving his steaks unattended.

But he knew no one would touch those burnt steaks with a ten foot pole.

* * *

It took some effort, but Terriermon had managed to sneak out of the dorm and to the restaurant where Henry was having his date. While he had believed in his partner more than anybody, he knew there would be no harm in helping Shinjuku High's most eligible bachelor get a leg up on this night.

So Terriermon hid amongst the pots and pans in the kitchen while chefs and waiters scrambled to serve everyone in the busy restaurant in a timely fashion. Terriermon went unnoticed as he walked towards a cart that had the name 'Wong' on it. He peeked under the pans and saw two pitch black steaks. They were horribly burnt.

Terriermon gagged and looked over to the next cart. He peeked under those pans to see fresh steaks, roasted to perfection. He was tempted to eat them himself. But instead, Terriermon switched pans and put the good steaks in Henry's cart.

There was only one thing left to make this night a success for Henry. Knowing what needed to be done, Terriermon ran out of the kitchen and headed outside.

* * *

As TK reached the 9th hole, he started to wonder if this was the best idea. He never claimed to be the best miniature golfer in the world, but he didn't think he was this bad. Each hole was a par 3 and TK was 16 over par. Although he could still catch Tai, who was 15 over par. Catherine, on the other hand, was a different story. She was 7 under par and had pretty much clinched the game for her. TK and Tai could only be amazed at how badly they were losing to a girl.

The 9th hole was a giant replica of Godzilla lying on his stomach. The ball was supposed to be hit into the Godzilla's mouth and the ball would come out through a hole at the tail and towards the hole. Catherine went first, just like she did every other hole. She tapped the ball and it went in a straight line towards the mouth. The ball went into the Godzilla mouth and came out of the hole on the other end and stopped inches from the hole.

"How does she do that?" Tai whispered.

"I think the French must be made for this game or something," TK whispered back.

Tai was next and as he went to putt, Catherine picked a nearby flower from the ground. She sniffed the flower and sighed deeply before picking the petals one-by-one.

"Gentlemen, I just love flowers. If you could give me any flower in the world, what would it be?"

Tai thought about that. "A red rose. It's beautiful…like you." He tapped the ball and it went into the Godzilla mouth before coming out the other end. The ball ended up colliding with Catherine's ball and pushed it into the hole, giving Catherine another hole-in-one. Tai's jaw dropped open. "You've got to be kidding me!"

"This is too easy," Catherine laughed as she updated the scorecard. "What about you, TK?"

TK went up to take his turn. "Well, I like roses and everything. But to me, something like that sounds too cliché. Why do guys always have to buy roses? Why not a daisy? Or a tulip? Or a dandelion? Or a sunflower? Something more original?"

Catherine beamed. "Very interesting way of looking at it."

TK hit his ball and it rolled down towards the mouth. It nearly stopped before finally going in and coming out the other end. It was about to go in the hole until a squirrel ran out of a bush and picked it up. The squirrel ran over to Catherine and dropped the ball at her feet.

"HEY! That's not fair!" TK exclaimed.

"It's perfectly legal," Tai smirked. "You're already one stroke in the hole."

TK adjusted his white hat and grumbled to himself as he walked over to play the ball where it lied. At this rate, he'd be sure to break a course record and it wouldn't be a positive one.

* * *

So far things were going fairly well, but Davis knew it was just about time to kick things up a notch to make sure Yolei's night was truly disastrous. One of the things he had to do was deliver the terrible dinner. So he grabbed the cart that had Henry and Yolei's dishes on it and rolled it over towards them.

Henry was still trying to dry himself off while Yolei nearly drooled at the sight of the plates. Davis placed the pans on the table and got ready to lift the lids.

"Your meals!"

Davis lifted the pans, but was shocked to see that under those pans were two delicious-looking steaks that were cooked to perfection. They looked and smelled so good that he was almost tempted to take a bite himself. He couldn't understand it. He knew he had switched the steaks to the burnt chunks of meat.

"Hey, this looks delicious!" Yolei grinned. "Thanks a lot!"

Davis and Henry exchanged nervous glances. This wasn't going in their favor. Davis realized that he'd have to resort to drastic measures.

He quickly rolled the cart back to the kitchen and waited until no one was looking before heading over towards the fire alarm. Another sure disaster would be the fire alarm being pulled and the sprinklers showering Yolei's dress. So once nobody was looking, Davis pulled the fire alarm.

The deafening sound of the fire alarm filled the restaurant. And just as Davis hoped, the sprinklers from the ceiling went off. But to his shock, every sprinkler went off…except the one hanging above Henry and Yolei. Everyone eating in the restaurant was soaked, but Henry and Yolei were dry as a bone. Davis was in disbelief.

By all means, everything that could possibly go wrong with this date should have been going wrong. Yet somehow…they were getting lucky.

* * *

When the fire alarm went off, Ken peeked into the restaurant door. The sprinklers had gone off and were leaving everyone drenched…with the exception of Henry and Yolei. It looked like Davis was trying his best, but luck was playing a huge part in making this all go right…for Yolei.

A moment later, Yolei got to her feet and started leading Henry to the exit. Ken knew that if she spotted him, she'd immediately recognize him. Ken leaped behind a palm plant and waited as they exited the restaurant.

Henry stepped into the parking lot as his car was being brought around. When it arrived, he went straight towards his own seat. Ken had to admire Henry for forgoing the usual gentlemanly action. But then Yolei opened her door and gasped.

"Henry! Roses!"

Henry was caught off-guard. "Huh?"

Yolei reached into the front seat and pulled out a bouquet of flowers. Ken couldn't believe he was seeing that. And from the look on Henry's face, he couldn't believe it, either.

"I can't believe you did this," Yolei beamed. She walked over to Henry. "I was starting to think you didn't like me, but now I know better. They're beautiful. Thank you, Henry!"

Henry was stuck. "B-B-B-But…"

Henry couldn't get another word out. Yolei wrapped her arms around him and kissed him, much to Ken's chagrin. Ken could see everything collapse before his eyes. But what he found odd was that when Yolei released that kiss, Henry looked just as dumbfounded as he did. Ken was getting the feeling that Henry was completely unaware of how those roses appeared.

"Hey, Ken? Is everything going…uh oh."

Davis arrived just in time to see Yolei release the kiss. He was just as shocked as everyone else.

"Hey! What happened?!" Davis cried.

"I don't even know where to begin," Ken sighed.

"Where did those roses come from?" Davis asked.

Ken had no idea how to answer that. But then he looked towards the distance and saw a familiar someone riding on the back of a pickup truck.

"Davis, look at that!"

Davis and Ken both looked to see that Terriermon was riding away in the back of the pickup truck. The long-eared Digimon had been here the whole time and it was all starting to come together.

"I thought he was back in Henry's room!" Davis exclaimed.

"I'll bet you anything he snuck out," Ken assumed. "Well, that's just great! Thanks a lot, Davis!"

"Well…look at it this way. At least things…"

"DON'T SAY IT!!"

"Say what?"

"Don't say 'At least things can't get any worse'!"

As luck would have it, just as Ken said that, he felt a pair of arms wrap around his waist. Ken turned around and sweatdropped when he saw Rosa was right there.

"Hi Ken!"

"How did you recognize me?" Ken asked nervously.

Rosa removed the fake beard and giggled. "I'd recognize you anywhere, mi amor. So what are you doing out here in that disguise?"

Ken didn't even know how to start explaining. He just stood frozen. It was Davis who ended up bailing him out.

"We were just leaving! Let's go, Ken!"

Knowing that another chance meeting with Rosa could only lead to disaster, Davis dragged Ken out by the arm. Luckily, with the crowd of people there that night, Davis managed to pull Ken out without being spotted by Yolei.

* * *

Having reached the 18th hole, the night was almost over. For TK, although he was having a good time, this was one miniature golf outing he wanted to forget. The only consolation was that he was leading Tai by one stroke.

The 18th hole was simple. It was just a zigzag that led to the hole. But there was one catch. If the ball was hit too hard, it'd slip off the course and fall into a creek. Catherine went first and, as she had been doing all night, she hit the ball just hard enough to land it inches from the hole.

TK was supposed to go next and he knew he was fighting for something on this night. He was fighting against Tai for the dubious "honor" of setting the record for worst score in course history. TK tapped the ball and he clearly got lucky, because the ball just rolled along until it stopped just an inch from the right of the hole.

Tai knew he had a tough task ahead of him, but as he walked over to putt third, Catherine asked another of her random questions.

"Gentlemen, I've had so much fun tonight. But I was just wondering…if you could have anything in the world…what would it be?"

Tai smirked. "Your heart, of course."

Catherine giggled. "What about you, TK?"

TK shrugged. That was too easy and it sounded like just another cheap romantic pickup line coming from Tai. TK had a different answer.

"If I could have anything in the world…I'd just want to make my family and friends happy."

Catherine was caught by surprise. "Oh, my! TK…that is very sweet."

Tai had his focus on the ball. He had an intense look on his face, determined to not come in last. After a few seconds, he finally hit the ball. The ball rolled down towards the hole, not quickly enough for anyone there. Finally, the ball reached the hole…but it hit TK's ball and fell into the hole. Tai had a hole-in-one while TK's ball rolled into the creek.

Tai's eyes widened. "I got a hole-in-one!"

So did TK's. "Hey! That's not fair!"

Tai obviously didn't hear any of it, because he was running around celebrating like he was Tiger Woods. "I got a hole-in-one! I got a hole-in-one! I did it! I did it! Yeah! I'm good!"

TK and Catherine both sweatdropped as Tai had broken into a victory dance.

"You want to remind him that he's 31 over par?" TK pointed out dryly.

"Let him have this one," Catherine sighed.

TK shook his head. He'd let Tai have this moment. The night had just about ended and with a splash. He couldn't believe he would have the worst score in course history.

But at least he had fun doing it.

* * *

Matt sweatdropped again. With the hall just about empty for the night, the RA was on the second floor tonight. After the disaster from a few days ago, he knew he had to be there for his girlfriend. And so he found himself in her room…watching her try on wigs.

"How does this look, Matt?"

Sora tried on a brunette wig with blond highlights. Matt looked to his left to see Mimi, Palmon, and Biyomon all giving the thumbs up. He looked to his right to see Izzy, Joe, Gomamon, and Tentomon giving a thumbs up. But Sora had her eyes on Matt.

Matt grinned. "Looks great!"

Sora adjusted the wig. "I like it, too. I just hope the wind doesn't blow it off."

"Try a hat to go with it," Mimi suggested.

"Hey! I just got an e-mail!"

"Izzy, do you ALWAYS carry that thing with you?" Mimi huffed. "It's like some things never change!"

Izzy didn't listen, but rather had his eyes on his laptop. "You guys might be interested in this. It's from Agumon and Gabumon!"

That got Matt's attention. "What?"

Everyone flocked over to the laptop as Izzy opened the e-mail. Indeed, it was from Agumon and Gabumon. And it looked like a distress call.

  


**To the DigiDestined,**

We know about the Digimon that have been released into your world and we know they're under the influence of Black Gears. We're sending you this urgent message to let you know that we've discovered who's behind it. Someone calling herself 'The Digimon Empress' is behind this and she's dressed just like the old Digimon Emperor. But we must also warn you of her crony known as ChaosGallantmon. He's a Mega Digimon with power unlike anything we've faced. Even as WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon, we couldn't beat him. He's extremely dangerous! Be on the look out for him! We don't have a motive for this Digimon Empress's actions, but we're convinced that the Digimon attacks will keep on coming. And since Gennai is out attempting to contact the four Digimon Sovereigns, we came to you. Keep your guard up, DigiDestined!

Agumon & Gabumon

  


"The Digimon Empress," Izzy repeated. "If she's human like the old Digimon Emperor, then that must be our mole!"

"A double agent?" Mimi thought. "Odaiba U student or faculty by day, Digimon Empress by night?"

"That's what it looks like," Joe answered. "We have to do something."

"But the e-mail doesn't give us any idea where to find her," Izzy pointed out. "She could be anywhere in the Digital World or anywhere in Odaiba!"

"Then we can't do anything besides wait," Matt said. "We wait for either another Digimon to attack or for Gennai to come back." He clenched his fist. "But this makes me feel helpless. It's like we're sitting ducks!"

"Don't call US helpless!" Palmon snapped. "We'll be ready for anything that comes our way and we'll find out what's going on sooner than you think!"

"Don't let the waiting get to you guys," Tentomon added. "You guys are college students. You've got a lot more to worry about, right?"

"You just HAD to remind me of that," Matt sighed. "I've got a report I need to do. I've got to get going."

"So we're not going to make any plans?" Joe asked. "We're just going to wait and see what happens?"

"We can't plan ahead," Matt answered. "We don't even know what we're up against. For that, we have to wait for something else to fall into place. But in the meantime, we'll just have to go on like we normally would. And for me, that means getting my report done…on a Saturday night."

Sora took Matt's arm. "I'll help you. Let's go."

Matt didn't want to say 'no' to Sora anytime soon. So he let her come along. They walked out of the room together and walked downstairs. When Matt reached his door, he went into his pocket for his keys, but as he was looking for them, he felt something bump his leg.

He looked down and saw a long-eared Digimon go into a stuffed animal act. At least he did, until he realized who Matt was.

"Oh, it's just you. Don't mind me. And if anyone asks, I was never here."

Terriermon scooted off towards Takato and Henry's room. Matt just shrugged and took out his key. He opened the door and let Sora walk in first (like any true gentleman would). The first thing Sora noticed was an empty container…of facial cream.

Sora read the label. "Reduces wrinkles."

Matt was astounded. "What?! Are you telling me Tai's STILL going through this aging complex?!"

"You're his roommate, not me," Sora replied.

Before Matt could say anything else or get started on his report, he saw two familiar figures stumble through the hall. Curiosity had gotten the better of Matt and Sora again as they poked their heads through the door and peeked out into the hall. They were just in time to see Davis and Ken…wearing bad disguises. Davis was dressed like a chef and Ken had a fake beard hanging loose from his chin.

"What's with you two?" Sora asked curiously.

"Don't ask," Ken grumbled. "We'd be here all night. Have you seen Henry?"

As if on cue, Henry came through the hall, looking as if he were in a hypnotic trance. The first thing everyone noticed was that there was a lipstick mark on Henry's cheek.

"Henry, what happened?!" Ken demanded as he shook Henry frantically.

Henry shook himself out of his trance. "I thought you guys were going to get me OUT of this, not push me further in!"

"It wasn't us!" Davis pointed out. "My plan was perfect! It was Terriermon!"

Henry's jaw dropped open. "What?! TERRIERMON!"

The door to Henry's room opened as little Terriermon poked his head out. "Hey, stud! How was the date?"

"Terriermon, you…you…"

"No need to thank me for the roses, Henry. I'm just doing what I can to help my favorite bachelor."

Terriermon chuckled as he went back into the dorm room. Ken just threw his hands in the air in a motion of defeat and went back to his own room with Davis following.

"Ken, there's still more we could do! It's not over yet!"

"It can't be over, Ken!" Henry added. "You have to help me get out of this!"

"If Yolei wants you, what can I do?" Ken asked despondently.

Davis's face brightened. "I have an idea!"

"NO MORE IDEAS!!" Ken snapped.

Ken, Davis, and Henry all went back to Takato and Henry's room. Matt and Sora just watched the whole scene and shrugged. They had no idea where that even started and they weren't about to ask.

"Well…if there aren't anymore interruptions…" Matt began.

But there was one more interruption. It was from TK and Tai who were just walking in. And they both had lipstick marks of their own.

Sora shook her head. "That French girl?"

TK and Tai both nodded. Then they suddenly noticed each other's lipstick mark.

"Mine's bigger," Tai said.

"No, mine is!" TK shot back.

Matt couldn't resist getting in one crack. "So did she notice your wrinkles, Tai?"

"She didn't notice a single wrinkle," Tai said proudly. "That cream really works."

That's when TK reached into Tai's full head of hair and plucked something, getting a yelp from Tai. TK had pulled out a gray hair.

"But it looks like you need more 'Just For Men'," TK grinned.

Tai took the single gray hair from TK and shook his head. "Looks like I do. Excuse me."

Tai rushed into his room and shut the door, leaving Matt, Sora, and TK outside. Matt pounded on the door.

"TAI! I have to start my report!!"

Sora still couldn't believe what she saw. "TK…how did you do that? You found a lone gray hair out of that whole valley of hair on Tai's head?"

"It was sticking out like a sore thumb," TK answered casually.

Matt kept pounding on the door. He didn't need to waste anymore time on the count of Tai's ridiculous age complex.

"So how'd the date go?" Sora asked as Matt continued pounding.

TK thought about that. "It was a lot of fun and everything…but Catherine just asked the most random questions…"

* * *

Yolei walked through the door, feeling content after her date with Henry. She knew that this date was supposed to be a way to get Ken off her mind, but it turned out to be so much more. She never expected those roses and she never expected to have as good a time as she did. Henry was really a sweet guy.

When she walked into her dorm, she saw Catherine had already returned from her night out with Tai and TK. And she was looking through Yolei's magazine.

"How'd it go?" Yolei asked.

"It was so much fun!" Catherine said cheerfully. "But I have to admit that I personally couldn't make a choice between the two."

"That's what the quiz was for," Yolei grinned. "So what's the final score?"

Catherine made notes in the magazine and circled certain parts. She made the calculations…and sweatdropped.

"It's…TIED!"

"What? Let me see that!"

Yolei took the magazine. She looked at the answers that Catherine filled in and how they were to be scored. And indeed, the result was a tie.

"Well…how about that?"

Catherine grumbled. "Yes…how about that?"

Yolei wanted to think she had helped tonight, but it looked like she didn't make the choice any easier for Catherine. But she didn't let that bring her down.

After all, her own love life was looking up.

  


Next Week: Sunday is here and it's a PROCRASTINATOR'S NIGHTMARE! Time has finally caught up to Kari and she needs to do her report. But when a streak of bad luck hits her, she needs to hit the streets briefly before continuing. What she doesn't know is that the next servant of the unholy trio is out looking for her. What happens when Kari meets up with…Cherrymon: Master of Disguise? And what happens when everyone else has reports of their own to do? In fact, everyone has a report to do except Rika. How will Rika handle a certain procrastinator?

  


Any comments? Then mail me at AmericanCaptor@hotmail.com and don't forget to review below!


	22. Procrastinator's Anonymous

Last Week: It was another chaotic Saturday night when Henry and Yolei went out with Ken and Davis lurking around in disguise. Although the original plan was to make sure Yolei had the worst night of her life, it was Terriermon who ended up sticking his nose in and making the night unforgettable. Unfortunately, he made things BETTER and not worse. Meanwhile, Catherine had a night out of her own with Tai and TK. And while she hoped to make a choice that night, things didn't get any easier. As for the older DigiDestined, they all got a message from Agumon and Gabumon warning them of the imminent danger that was lying ahead.

  


**Digimon: The College Years**

Episode 22- Procrastinator's Anonymous

  


The underground Server base had been quiet these past few days. After the victory over WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon, things had been quiet and spies didn't dare attempt to snoop around Server since then. But for Puppetmon, all this inaction was starting to get to him. He wanted to play with someone.

That's when things started getting livelier. Puppetmon entered the main chamber and witnessed an argument between Datamon…and the supercomputer screen. It appeared that the Dark One had chosen to make contact again and he was still shrouded by darkness.

"Well…you see, I'm not much closer to getting you out," Datamon explained. "The whole nature of the Dark Ocean is wrapped in mystery and even I cannot compute it. I haven't the faintest idea how to bring you here."

"I have been far too patient with you!" the Dark One boomed. "You haven't even succeeded in destroying the other DigiDestined! In fact, from what you've reported back to me, there are even MORE of them?!"

"A breed calling themselves Tamers," Datamon replied. "But we're quickly learning more about them and their techniques. They will soon find themselves overpowered by our minions and Black Gears."

"Your Black Gears are proving useless!" the Dark One continued. "And the final Dark Spore has also proven to be useless! You haven't even taken proper advantage of your servant!"

"The Digimon Empress is playing her part to the letter," Datamon protested. "In fact, she has used the Black Gears very well! You should see the new Digimon she helped create with them."

"But none of it is bringing me closer to escaping the Dark Ocean! And if you cannot find a way to release me and bring me to the Child of Light, then you will bring her to me!"

"Come again?" Puppetmon cut in.

"Once I have the holder of the Crest of Light here, I will have more power than you can imagine! And I will have more than enough power to escape this place! And once I escape the Dark Ocean, I will take over both the human world and the Digital World!"

"But if we can't get you out, how do you expect us to get her in?" Puppetmon pointed out.

"She'll deny it until her dying day, but the Child of Light holds much angst in her heart. She still struggles with the darkness. Once you bring her here, away from all that gives her hope, the darkness will overwhelm her and the Dark Ocean will claim her! My patience is running thin! Bring me the Child of Light!"

The feed died once again and Puppetmon just casually shrugged. "I can't believe I'm listening to someone whose face I've never even seen before. You'd think he'd step out of those shadows once in a while. I like to see who I'm playing with."

"As if there wasn't enough pressure on me," Datamon muttered. "I've got a big, ugly Digimon whose face I can't even see pushing me to go even faster than I'm going now, I'm out of Black Gears, and my Digimon Empress isn't even here!"

"So who needs her?" Puppetmon growled.

"ChaosGallantmon won't respond to any of my orders!" Datamon answered sourly. "It's as if he'll only listen to her."

"Give me five minutes with him! He won't like what I do with broken toys!"

"He's not a broken toy! He's still in good condition! We just have to wait for her to come back. But since she isn't coming, we might as well send someone else."

"But who else do we have?"

There was nobody present in the base until somebody else came in. It was a Cherrymon and a Black Gear was faintly noticeable in the leaves of the tree-like ultimate-level Digimon.

"If you're looking for someone to get a job done, you can count on me," Cherrymon said with a voice that sounded like a poor man's Marlon Brando. "Believe me, those twerps won't know what hit them."

"What makes you think you can do anything?" Puppetmon growled.

"Don't you know who I am?" Cherrymon shot back. "I am…Cherrymon: Master of Disguise!!"

"Master of Disguise?" Datamon repeated.

"That's right! Observe!"

Cherrymon reached into his leaves and pulled out an oversized fake nose and mustache. He put the accessory on his face. It looked like…Cherrymon wearing an oversized fake nose and mustache. Puppetmon sweatdropped.

"Huh?"

Cherrymon removed the fake nose and mustache. "I'm over here! HA! I'll bet you didn't recognize me with this cunning disguise! But that's not all! Check this out!"

Cherrymon reached into his leaves and pulled out a gigantic Afro. He put the Afro on his head and added a pair of sunglasses. For Puppetmon, this whole display was bizarre.

"Is he for real?" Puppetmon whispered to Datamon.

"Let's just humor him," Datamon whispered back.

Puppetmon nodded. "Why…where did he go? I remember a Cherrymon standing here just a second ago."

"Ha ha! I'm right here!" Cherrymon piped up. He removed the Afro and glasses and stood proudly. "Didn't recognize me, did you?"

"*I* sure didn't," Datamon said dryly. "We have one simple task in mind for you: Bring the Child of Light to us. Bring the one known as Kari."

"And smash anything in your way!" Puppetmon added.

"Bring the one known as Kari," Cherrymon repeated. "I can do that! It'll take my cleverest of disguises, but I can do it!"

"You'd better!" Puppetmon threatened as he held up his hammer. "I'm warning you! You wouldn't be the FIRST Cherrymon I've chopped into splinters!"

Datamon began placing coordinates on the computer screen. "Since I can't contact our Digimon Empress, I'll have to rely on other methods. But I believe I have a backup plan. I'll send you in through an experimental process I've been working on. Let's try THIS to get you into the real world."

The task was left to a Cherrymon on this day. Puppetmon wanted things to speed up around here, but he was cursed to go at this current pace. But if Cherrymon could succeed in bringing the Child of Light to them, he'd come much closer to winning this game.

* * *

Rika was desperately craving earmuffs more than anything. Everyone in the dorms went running around in a panic today. Seemingly everyone had projects and/or reports due tomorrow. Rika had never seen anything like this in high school. The clock struck midnight and the night wasn't even close to ending.

"I can't believe these people," Rika scoffed. "You'd think they'd have been ready for this when they came to college. How can anybody just wait until the last minute like this?"

Rika got no response. When she turned her head, she saw Kari frantically pounding her head in frustration with both fists. She was sweating profusely and moaning loudly.

"What's with you?" Rika asked dryly.

"I can't believe I waited until the last minute!" Kari wailed. "I knew I should have started on this paper sooner! Why did I let this happen, Rika?!"

"It's your own fault!" Rika snapped. "That's what happens when you put things off!"

Jeri just finished putting the finishing touches on her own paper. "And…done! My history paper's ready to go! I guess I got lucky this time."

"It could always be worse," Rika smirked. "You could be pulling an all-nighter like Kari over here."

Rika saw Kari losing more and more of her sanity by the second. Kari was about to rip her short hair out by the roots, but just settled on chewing another pen cap. Meanwhile, the Digimon weren't about to go to sleep now, either. They had plans of their own tonight. Gatomon was still covering up with a coat while she and Renamon stood eyeing each other intensely. Both Digimon stood face-to-face and were about to engage in another competition.

"Alright, Renamon. Get ready!"

"You won't last five minutes, cat!"

"This town ain't big enough for the both of us!"

"Ready…set…DRAW!"

Both Digimon drew…a card.

Renamon held up her card. "Curse of Dragon: 2000."

Gatomon smirked and held up her own card. "Dark Magician: 2500. I win!"

"Cheater! You fixed the deck!"

"Calumon was the one who shuffled the deck and you know he doesn't play favorites! You lost fair and square, Foxy!"

"Don't call me FOXY!!"

"QUIET!!" Kari shouted. "I'm trying to WORK!!"

Everyone went silent. Rika just chuckled under her breath. She found it rather funny that Ms. Perfect was starting to crumble under the pressures of doing her work at the last minute. It almost made her look normal.

For the next 90 minutes, things were quiet like a study hall. Kari kept working diligently while Rika took up writing in her diary. Everyone wondered why Rika of all girls would keep a diary, but Rika had her reasons. And among them were relieving her frustrations…and jotting down her personal opinions on certain things.

Finally, it looked like Kari had finished. She had breathed a big sigh of relief as she saved the paper on her hard drive and pressed the 'Print' button. Unfortunately, the printer remained idle and wasn't doing anything. Kari waited patiently, but after about a minute of inaction, she started pounding it desperately.

"What's wrong with this thing? Why isn't it working?!"

Rika walked over to the printer. "Hmm…looks like it's busted. You may need a new printer."

Kari buried her face in her hands. "That's just great! Now what'll I do?"

"Borrow someone else's printer," Jeri suggested. "I'm sure Davis will be more than happy to loan you his."

Kari breathed a sigh of relief. "That's a good idea."

"Kari, I think you need to relax," Jeri said soothingly. "Maybe we should all go out for some ice cream."

"And while we're at it, I'd like a balloon and a lollipop," Rika scowled.

"That probably would help me relax a little," Kari thought. "Ok, let's go. You coming, Rika?"

"Not tonight," Rika replied sharply. "I've got a lot on my mind and I don't feel like going out tonight."

Jeri leaned over towards Kari and whispered what sounded to Rika like…

"I'll bet it's Ryo."

"What was that?!" Rika snapped.

Jeri sweatdropped. "I said…I'll bet you're real hungry. You want us to bring anything back?"

Rika shook her head. "No, thanks. Just close the door on your way out."

Jeri and Kari got up and walked out, leaving Rika alone…with the Digimon. Rika didn't even want to think of what could happen between Renamon and Gatomon.

If she was lucky, things would stay quiet.

* * *

Kari was wracked by nerves. She was finished with her paper, but didn't think it was anything special…or even anything good. She didn't even think it was worthy of a C. Hopefully, some fresh air would help her clear her head. She felt lucky to have a roommate like Jeri.

When they reached the stairs, they ran into two certain young ladies who were making their rounds. It was Mimi and Sora, who were both carrying their Digimon. Kari couldn't help but notice that Sora…was wearing a hat with fake braids hanging down.

"Um…good look for you, Sora."

"Thanks. You two are the first ones we've seen who aren't panicking about homework or projects."

"Actually, Kari's a wreck," Jeri corrected. "That's why we're going for ice cream right now. You guys want to join us?"

"I'm heading down to help Matt in a little bit, so I can't really go," Sora answered. "What about you, Mimi?"

"Joe says he needs to be alone with his work, so I'm in. I'm sure Palmon, here, could use a treat."

Biyomon frowned. "What about me?"

"I'll bring you back something," Palmon grinned.

"Would you?"

"Of course!"

Mimi giggled. "We'd better get going. If everyone really IS doing homework here on campus, I'll bet the ice cream shop's empty."

That made four for this night. If there was anyone who could lighten the mood, it was Mimi. Kari felt relieved. She just wanted to get school off her mind for at least a couple of minutes.

* * *

Takato's room was getting awfully crowded. A lot of the guys had chosen tonight to come visit. The count was six and they comprised of himself, Henry, Kazu, Kenta, Davis, and Ken. They all had work to do tonight. Takato was taking a break from his College Writing class and was halfway through a short story. Henry had a computer program he was working on. Kazu and Kenta were both working on a history paper while Davis and Ken were doing group work for their economics class.

The Digimon, on the other hand, had no such worries. And while Takato took a break and everyone else worked, he decided to have a brief chat with them.

"How was I supposed to know Henry doesn't want her?" Terriermon asked again.

"You never noticed she was always around Ken?" Wormmon pointed out.

"No, isn't Ken always around that Mexican girl?" Terriermon wondered.

"No! What made you think that?" Patamon asked.

"I've noticed that, too," Guilmon cut in. "He's around that Mexican girl more than he's around Yolei."

"Rosa's just persistent," Veemon said. "Just like Davish."

Davis raised his head up from his textbook. "Huh? What'd you say, buddy?"

"Oh…nothing."

"Well, I've learned my lesson," Terriermon nodded. "I won't butt in anymore. But just how IS Henry planning to get out of this?"

"I'm sure Davish will think of something," Veemon grinned. "He always knows just what to do."

Takato looked over at Davis, who at the moment, just happened to have broken his pencil. Suddenly, he started to feel very sorry for Henry.

While they all continued working, someone knocked at the door.

"Who is it?" Davis asked almost smugly.

"Just open the door, Davis!"

Davis walked over and opened the door to reveal that their pizza had arrived. And the delivery boy…just happened to be TK, who had a sour expression on his face.

"You're late, pizza boy!" Davis smirked. "I should keep your tip."

"Just pay me, Davis."

Pizza was a must for any college student, especially on a night such as this one, but Takato got the feeling that Davis just HAD to call the same pizza place that TK was working at.

"You think the girls are having this kind of night?" Takato asked no Digimon in particular.

The Digimon all shrugged.

* * *

Kari finished up another sundae. "I really needed this. Thank you guys so much."

Jeri and Mimi both sweatdropped. They had all found a table outside the ice cream shop and each had a sundae while Palmon ate inconspicuously underneath the table. But Kari had a bit more than one sundae.

"Kari…that was your fifth sundae," Mimi said dryly.

Kari chuckled sheepishly when she noticed the five empty sundae cups in front of her. She did want to get her mind off her studies for a while, but she didn't think she'd lose track of what she was eating.

"You know, I was forced to learn these lessons the hard way, too," Mimi began. "Back when I was a freshman, I had this ten-page paper for my College Writing class and I thought I could wait until the last minute like in high school. That was a very bad choice. I ended up stressing out so much and I think I even gave myself premature wrinkles. And needless to say, I lost out on a lot of beauty sleep."

"What was your grade?" Kari asked curiously.

"A C+, but I could have done so much better if I had only put in the proper time like I should have."

Kari hung her head down. "I guess waiting until the last minute ISN'T the best way to do things. I've been stressed like you wouldn't believe."

"I'll bet," Jeri nodded. "You even brought the disk with your paper on it with you."

"Isn't that crossing into the realm of paranoia?" Mimi pointed out.

Kari shook her head. "With the way Gatomon and Renamon are going, I think this disk is safer here with me. I wouldn't want something bad to happen to it. You know, I probably shouldn't even push my luck. We should get back."

Mimi looked under the table. "Palmon, you finished?"

"I'm done, Mimi. I wouldn't want to gain inches on my waistline."

Everyone was about to get up and leave when they noticed that there was a panic around the corner. People were starting to run and, naturally, that drew attention from Kari, Jeri, and Mimi.

Kari already had a bad feeling. "NO! Not tonight!"

"We'd better check it out," Mimi sighed. "Maybe it isn't even what we think it is."

The three of them walked towards the scene of the panic. The first thing they noticed was an abnormality. There was a Cherrymon standing at the corner. But this Cherrymon wore a black Afro wig with a large yellow tank top along with black makeup.

"Excuse me," the Cherrymon said casually. "I'm looking for a girl named Kari. Do you know where I can find her?"

"How did YOU get here, Cherrymon?" Palmon demanded.

"Cherrymon? I'm not…Cherrymon. I…don't know who that is. I'm American basketball player, Kobe Bryant."

"We know who you are, Cherrymon!" Mimi added.

Cherrymon looked legitimately baffled. "Wha?!" He removed the Afro wig and tore off the tank top. "How could you see through my amazing disguise?!"

"We've seen the likes of you before!" Mimi huffed.

"Is that so?" Cherrymon smirked evilly. "Then that must make you DigiDestined! Which one of you is Kari?"

Mimi scoffed. "You expect me to just tell you that Kari's the girl standing behind me?" She sweatdropped. "Oops."

Cherrymon peered over at Kari. "So you're the one I'm looking for. I've got someone waiting for you. So let's go."

Palmon stood between Kari and Cherrymon. "She's not going anywhere and you're going back to the Digital World! Don't make me have to drag you back there!"

"Look at me. I'm really scared of a little sprout."

Mimi reached into her pocket and pulled out her Digivice. "Let's show him who's a little sprout!"

****Palmon…Digivolve to…Togemon!****

Cherrymon now found himself staring into the hollow black eye sockets of the cactus-like Togemon. The big tree tried to rush for Kari, but Togemon stepped in his way.

"You want her? You'll have to get past my Needle Spray!"

Togemon fired a flurry of needles that served as enough of a distraction. Mimi waved for Jeri to get Kari to safety. Before Kari could even say anything, Jeri dragged her off away from the scene of the battle. The Digimon invasions had been coming for a while, but this was the first time one of them had actually come seeking out Kari.

For the first time in a long time, Kari started to feel the darkness tugging away at her again.

* * *

Gatomon closed her coat again. She was starting to feel a draft come in. She was almost hoping things between her and Renamon could die down, but every time she felt the cold wind against the bare skin where her fur should have been, she became furious. It kept her motivated towards her goal of getting Renamon OUT of the room and OUT of her life.

But in the meantime, Gatomon was content with outshining her rival in every aspect, no matter how small or trivial. She took pride in beating Renamon in just about everything, especially with Renamon's superior attitude.

"Hey cat, I've got one more little game for you."

"And what's that?"

Renamon grabbed a large sheet from Jeri's drawer. She hung it up on the wall. It was a 'Pin the tail on the donkey' game.

Rika saw it and sweatdropped. "I swear…I feel like I've gone in back in time 15 years."

"A kid's game, Renamon?" Gatomon scoffed. "I have a feeling you have something more than that in mind."

"Perhaps I do," Renamon replied. "I'm getting tired of cleaning your litter box. If I come closer to pinning the tail on that donkey, then you clean your own filth…and leave the coat off."

"That's degrading!" Gatomon gasped. Then she thought about it and got an idea of her own. "Ok, Foxy. I'm game. But if *I* win, then I get to shave you just like you shaved me."

Rika chuckled. The Tamer had a lot of confidence in Renamon, but Gatomon believed in herself. She knew she couldn't lose this game. It was a matter of catlike reflexes, which Gatomon had plenty more of.

Gatomon grabbed a blindfold and wrapped it around Renamon's eyes tightly. She made sure to pull it VERY tightly. Once Renamon was blindfolded, she started slowly moving towards the sheet. Rika was focused on writing in her diary, so she wasn't looking. That's when Gatomon went ahead and signaled for a little help.

Calumon was right by the sheet. Once Gatomon signaled, Calumon pulled the sheet a few inches to the left. It was underhanded, but Gatomon knew that Renamon deserved that and more. Renamon put the pin by the donkey's stomach and was off by a couple of inches. Renamon removed the blindfold and saw she had missed.

"Missed it! But I'll bet you won't do any better, Gatomon. It's your turn."

Renamon walked behind Gatomon and wrapped the blindfold around her EXTREMELY tight. Gatomon's eyes nearly bulged out. Knowing Gatomon couldn't see, Renamon quickly removed her coat. Gatomon immediately felt the cold wind hit her shaved body and grew annoyed.

"That's a cheap shot, Foxy!"

"It's your move, Gatomon. Pin the tail on the donkey and I'll be joining you."

Gatomon smirked. She would have loved the chance to humiliate Renamon the way she humiliated her. So she moved forward, knowing exactly where to find the donkey's rear. But when she reached over to pin the tail, she didn't feel the sheet or even the wall. She felt…spikes.

"YEOW!!!"

Gatomon frantically leaped in the air and removed the blindfold with her left hand. She saw that her right hand had been pricked with several spikes. She looked over and saw that Impmon had sneakily positioned a cactus in front of the sheet. Gatomon had pinned the tail on a prickly green cactus.

Renamon chuckled. "Looks like I win."

Gatomon couldn't believe it. "That's not fair! You cheated!"

"You didn't say a stray cactus couldn't get in your path, did you?" Renamon pointed out. "Just like a stray fireball could hit my arrow?"

Gatomon knew she should have seen it coming. She had been duped. There was a reason Renamon had suggested this game. She had this planned all along. Feeling angered, she focused her attention on Impmon.

"And what's YOUR stake in this?!"

"You mean BESIDES seeing your new fashion trend?" Impmon smirked. "I did it because I've known Renamon a lot longer than I've known you, cat. And friends are supposed to stick together."

Gatomon was taken aback by that answer. "Friends? So…you're really Renamon's friend?"

"What's it to ya?" Impmon asked suspiciously. "Hey, don't let that spread around. If anyone asks, I'm still the tough, scrappy loner that every human loves to hate. Got me?"

Gatomon nodded, but she was still speechless. It was starting to sink into her that Renamon wasn't the loner she met all those years ago. Maybe she HAD changed. She was starting to feel like maybe she should make an effort to be friends with Gatomon.

But when she felt the wind hit her skin, she realized she wouldn't be trying anytime soon. For now, she'd just stay angry.

* * *

Kari found herself hiding under a bench in the park. She never saw herself as the helpless type, but Gatomon wasn't around to help her and Cherrymon was clearing chasing after her, though she couldn't understand why.

She felt ready to panic at any moment, but she could hardly concentrate, because Jeri's pager kept going off. It kept Kari on edge.

"Jeri…we're going to get spotted. Shut your pager off!"

"I…I…can't! I'll…just set it on 'vibrate'!"

Jeri set her pager on 'vibrate' and decided that maybe it was the best time to move. She grabbed Kari by the hand and moved her away past the restrooms and towards the playground. But that wasn't the best move to make, because they saw Cherrymon on a teeter-totter. He was wearing an oversized red cap and holding a giant lollipop.

"Deedle-dee-dee, I'm just playing on this teeter-totter just like a normal little kid."

Kari gasped. "Cherrymon!"

Cherrymon was in disbelief again. "What?! How did you see past my disguise?!" He removed the cap and dropped the lollipop. "You're a clever one, Kari. You may be able to see past my awesome disguises, but you won't stop me."

Cherrymon lunged towards Kari. Jeri stepped in between them, but he didn't stop advancing. But before Cherrymon could reach either of them, someone else stepped in to save the day. It was a gray dragon Digimon standing on two legs with long claws and a gold faceplate. It was a vicious thing that was practically frothing at the mouth.

Jeri recognized this Digimon. "Cyberdramon!"

A familiar voice sounded behind them. "Back off!"

Kari turned around and saw Ryo had arrived just in time to help them. Cyberdramon must have belonged to him.

Cyberdramon leaped into battle. "Desolation Claw!"

Cherrymon took several steps back to avoid Cyberdramon's vicious onslaught. Cyberdramon was ruthless and wasn't about to let up.

Cherrymon attempted to fight back. "Pit Pelter!"

Cherrymon fired his Pit Pelter attack, but Cyberdramon swiped each shot away like they were tennis balls and slowly stalked his prey. The fight wouldn't last long at this rate.

Kari looked over and saw a confident smile on Ryo's face. She had to admit…she was glad he had shown up.

* * *

Mimi couldn't believe she had let Cherrymon escape. She was frustrated with herself. She knew she had to find him before he found Kari. And for that, she needed a little more power. That's why Togemon had Digivolved into Lilymon and headed towards the park where they last saw Cherrymon heading.

"Do you see anything, Lilymon?" Mimi asked desperately.

Lilymon, who had taken to the sky, pointed forward. "There!"

Cherrymon was being backed towards them. He had his back to them and had his hands full with a vicious gray Digimon that was backing him up more and more with each swipe he took. His aggression was unparalleled. Lilymon was about to jump in, but Mimi's cell phone rang. This wasn't the time to even think about answering a cell phone, but she heard a voice come through the receiver.

_"Mimi! I've got a little surprise for you!"_

Mimi recognized the voice. She immediately picked up the phone. "Gennai?!"

_"I had a feeling you guys were in trouble. Is Lilymon around?"_

"Uh…yeah, she is!"

_"Hold up your phone, Mimi! I've got a little gift for Lilymon from Ebonwumon!"_

Mimi didn't hesitate in doing what she was told. She held up her cell phone and a green light came from the receiver. The light struck Lilymon and, indeed, she got a surprise.

****Lilymon…Mega Digivolve to…Rosemon!****

For the first time, Lilymon had reached her Mega form. Mimi didn't even think she had one. But she saw it when she saw an elegant Digimon with red and black tights with a white cape of flower petals. Her head was made up of rose petals and she had a whip of thorns.

"I am Rosemon, the graceful yet formidable flower warrior. I attack with my Thorn Whipping and Rose Spear, leaving my enemies wilted."

Rosemon stylishly stepped forward until Cherrymon literally bumped into her. He took a step back and found himself surrounded by Rosemon and the other Digimon. In a vain attempt to protect himself, Cherrymon reached into his leaves and put on a pair of oversized glasses.

"Uh…you wouldn't hit a mon with glasses, would you?"

The other Digimon answered that by slapping the glasses off. Rosemon was about to attack, but noticed something in Cherrymon's leaves. It was a Black Gear.

"I believe this can end peacefully," Rosemon said nobly. "Rose Spear!"

Rosemon tossed her Rose Spear right at Cherrymon with pinpoint accuracy. The Black Gear dissolved into data and Cherrymon was suddenly free, no longer under the Black Gear's influence. He shook it off and stood there, no longer a threat to anyone. But apparently, no one told that to the other Digimon. He lunged in to attack.

"Desolation Claw!"

Cherrymon was hit and was knocked back. He was fortunate that such a dangerous attack didn't delete him on the spot. Rosemon put a stop to his aggression.

"Thorn Whipping!"

Rosemon lashed out with her whip and wrapped it around the aggressive Digimon like a lasso. That's when his partner showed up. He took out his Digivice and it extended out to a whip of its own. He lashed at his partner with the whip.

"Down, Cyberdramon! Down!"

Cyberdramon was finally beginning to calm down. Rosemon and Cyberdramon's partner combined to ease Cyberdramon's rage. Once it was all over, Jeri and Kari finally walked over. Kari immediately walked over to the Cherrymon.

"I want to know! Who sent you?"

Cherrymon looked down and scratched his chin with a branch. "Do I know you? Hey, where am I? This isn't Server."

That got Mimi's attention. "Server? You came from Server?"

"That's right. I was wandering around the forest by the Koromon Village, but when I wasn't looking, something hit me in the head. That's the last thing I remember."

Mimi was starting to remember the day before. "Server. Sounds like the work of that Digimon Empress that Agumon and Gabumon were trying to warn us about."

"What do you mean, Mimi?" Kari asked curiously.

"Agumon and Gabumon sent us an e-mail warning us of a Digimon Empress who was tossing Black Gears in Server. But they told us she was all out of them because she had another Digimon who was apparently unstoppable."

"I'll be the judge of that!" Cyberdramon snapped. "I'll crush him!"

"Izzy has a theory that whoever that Digimon Empress is, it's the same person bringing the Digimon here," Mimi continued. "And whoever it is, is the mole from Odaiba U. Any idea who it is?"

"Not a clue," Jeri said quickly.

"I haven't seen anything suspicious," Kari muttered. "But why me? Why would she want me?"

"That's what we'll have to wait and find out," Mimi sighed.

Kari then focused her attention on Rosemon. "She's amazing! I didn't think she could go past the ultimate level!"

"Me neither!" Mimi squealed. "I got the call from Gennai and it just happened. She looks tough as nails and certainly has a wonderful fashion sense."

"Flowers are SO me!" Rosemon grinned.

Kari looked at her watch and gasped. "Mimi, it's almost midnight!"

"Well…it's late," Jeri said, trying to calm Kari down. "But at least your paper's done."

Kari nodded. "That's true. I still have my disk right here."

Kari reached into her pocket and pulled out…a broken disk. The disk must have broken during the entire melee. Kari saw it and nearly broke into tears.

"NO!!! MY PAPER!!!"

Mimi gulped. "Uh…we'd better get back. We've got a long walk ahead of us."

Ryo smiled. "I brought a car here. If you can get Rosemon over there to de-Digivolve, I'm sure we could all fit. I'll give you guys a ride back."

Kari's eyes brightened. "Ryo, you'd really do that?!"

Ryo nodded. "No problem, Kari."

Kari breathed a tremendous sigh of relief. Being the way she was, Mimi would have usually added to that sentiment. But she had a lot on her mind, besides sending this Cherrymon back through a Digiport.

This situation was getting more serious. Something had to be done, yet she felt helpless. It was time to do some more mole hunting.

* * *

As soon as Kari got back to the freshman building, she made a beeline for her door, not even waiting for Jeri to follow her. She didn't have anymore time to waste since she had to start her paper over from scratch. All she had was the recollection of what she wrote. It would take her at least a couple of hours to finish this time around, so she had to go fast.

Kari finally reached for her door and reached into her purse for her key. She pulled the key out, but fumbled with it for a while before finally dropping it to the floor. Kari felt like crying. It was like nothing was going her way tonight. She bent down to get it, but someone else had picked it up for her. It was Ryo.

"Let me help you with that."

Kari took her key and sighed. "This just hasn't been my day. For more reasons than one."

"Hey, we took care of Cherrymon and you'll get your paper done. What's left for you to worry about?"

"Why ME? Whoever this Digimon Empress is, why is she after ME? I'm not the only DigiDestined here, you know! What makes me so special?"

Ryo frowned. "I wish I could answer that."

Kari shook her head. "I haven't felt this tortured since…the darkness. I've got so much on my plate right now with college, getting along with Rika, trying to make things work with Davis, getting over my LAST boyfriend, and now to have whoever this is chasing after me…I'm starting to feel this darkness again."

"Darkness? What do you mean?"

"When I was 11, I…started to feel this darkness surround me. It's like it was always trying to take me away. And the first time, it actually did. It took me to this place called the Dark Ocean. I'd never seen such an awful place in my life. There were no signs of life and no signs of color. It was terrible. There were creatures that were masquerading themselves as Digimon, but then they…morphed into these dark…things…and they wanted to take me away to be their queen."

"How did you escape?"

Kari thought about it and got even sadder. She remembered the one who did save her that day. It was TK. She shuddered to think where she would be if it wasn't for him. No matter what problems would arise between the two, Kari would always be forever grateful.

"It was………a friend. A friend rescued me. I don't ever want to go back to that place again. That's why I get so scared every time I feel the darkness. I get scared nearly to death. And I don't want to start feeling that way again!"

Ryo held Kari's shoulders. He brought her to a friendly embrace. "You don't have to. The darkness only has power over you as long as you allow it to. The reason you haven't felt anything until now is because you never let the darkness have power over you in that time. Don't let it start now."

"I guess it's pretty silly of me to ask if you've ever felt this way before."

Ryo chuckled. "Kari, I'm the same guy who spent who knows how many days stuck in the Digital World with no way out. I had to face the three forms of Millenniummon thinking I would never see home again. Trust me…I may not know EXACTLY how you feel…but I'm pretty close."

Kari leaned on Ryo's shoulder without even realizing it. Another thing she didn't realize was that the door suddenly opened.

"What's going on here?"

It was like a huge wakeup call for Kari. She realized exactly what kind of awkward position she was in. And then she noticed that Rika was standing at the door, staring a hole right into both of them.

Kari's eyes widened. "This isn't what it looks like!"

Ryo was a little calmer. "It's just a friendly hug, Rika. Jealous?"

Rika scoffed. "Yeah, right! Me? Jealous? You've got some ego, you know that?"

"I just know that you probably wish this was you right now."

Rika focused on Kari. "Don't you have a paper to do?"

Kari was instantly brought back to reality. "Yeah!" She gave Ryo a quick kiss on the cheek. "Thanks for everything, Ryo."

She walked back into her room and she saw why Rika brought her paper up. With Kari back inside, it left Rika free…to slam the door in Ryo's face.

"Don't let the door hit you on the way out," she smirked.

Rika slammed the door, which was the international signal for Ryo to go away. Kari rushed back to her computer…but noticed something a little strange.

"Gatomon…where's your coat?"

"Don't ask," Gatomon grumbled. She was sitting on her bed without her coat.

Kari just shrugged and went back to work. She didn't have much time before school would start. It was hours away.

A college student's work was never done.

* * *

While everyone was finishing up with homework, Izzy Izumi had other things on his mind. He was looking through the archives of his laptop and looking up all the information he had on the Digimon. Ever since he met the Tamers, he was fascinated with their methods and tools. He had already encountered many Digimon in his lifetime, but since meeting the Tamers, Izzy had run into some he had never even seen before.

Just as Izzy was looking through Guilmon and his champion-level Digivolution's entry, he heard his cell phone ring. He yawned before picking it up. For some reason, he was feeling tuckered out.

"Hello."

_"Izzy?"_

"Mimi? What are you doing calling at this hour?"

_"It's this whole mole thing. It's getting a lot more serious. I'll be right over to tell you all about it. Or is it too late?"_

Izzy looked at the clock. He hadn't noticed, but it was almost 3 in the morning. Often times, he'd get so wrapped up in his laptop that he'd lose track of time. It certainly explained why he was feeling tired.

"If it's imperative, then come right over. How soon can you get here?"

_"I'll be there right away!"_

Izzy wondered what could be so important that Mimi would have to come over at this hour. But if it really WAS that important, then maybe this was something he should tell the rest of the DigiDestined about.

Or better yet…something he should tell the undercover Hypnos agents.

  


Next Week: With the pressure of homework and projects off (for the moment), our DigiDestined friends focus on something much more enjoyable. In fact…it's RUSH WEEK at Odaiba University! What happens when Davis, Kazu, and Kenta try and join their first fraternity? And what happens when Rika and Kari actually COMPETE for a spot on the same sorority? Bad blood between the two roommates is about to escalate even further. Come see it on the next Digimon: The College Years!

  


Any comments? Then mail me at AmericanCaptor@hotmail.com and don't forget to review below!


	23. Rush Week

Last Week: Everyone scrambled to finish their respective papers in time for Monday. That included Kari, who barely made it through her assignment with her sanity intact. Hoping to get her mind off her troubles, Kari headed out for ice cream with Jeri and Mimi, but ran into Cherrymon: Master of Disguise! Before Cherrymon could reach Kari, he was thwarted by Ryo and Cyberdramon along with Rosemon, who reached the Mega level with the help of Gennai and the power of Ebonwumon. After defeating Cherrymon and removing the Black Gear, Ryo takes Kari home, but as they start sharing stories…Rika happens to open the door. And things are about to get even more intense!

  


**Digimon: The College Years**

Episode 23- Rush Week

  


Davis took another bite of his hamburger. After everything he had been going through, he was just happy to doing something that couldn't possibly get him in any trouble: eating lunch at The Den on a Monday afternoon. Between slipping grades, his disastrous attempts to reunite Ken and Yolei, and the recent attempt by a Cherrymon to abduct Kari, Davis was feeling down in the dumps and there didn't look to be anything that could cheer him up.

But Takato, Kazu, and Kenta would definitely give it their best shot. Although, they weren't in the best of moods themselves.

Takato, the happiest of the four there, took a sip of his soda. "On the upside, I got my paper in on time and I think it looks like an A."

Kazu bitterly chewed on a potato chip. "We're all proud of you, Chumley, but we've got problems. Do you have any idea what kind of look Miss Asaji gave me when I handed in my paper? That woman's out to get me!"

"It's like the same look she gave me," Kenta added. "I think we're both about to flunk."

Davis wasn't even paying attention. His mind was wandering all over the place. There was so much he wanted to do to help his many situations, but he felt so helpless. His classes were only getting more difficult, Ken no longer wanted his help, and he didn't even know where to start guessing about this Digimon Empress who was apparently out to get Kari.

Everyone was about to bite on their respective foods, but they were interrupted by the sound of a trumpet. The trumpeter made way for the entrance of two preppy-looking guys in white cardigan sweaters and slacks. Their sweaters had a Greek letter 'A' on them. It got everyone's attention. The first guy, with long, blond hair slicked back in a ponytail, stepped forward and addressed everyone.

"Greetings, Odaiba Dragons! Today begins a new week and we just wanted to let you know that it's Rush Week here at Odaiba U! Odaiba University's best fraternities are now recruiting for the year and I'm sure they're more than willing to look for anybody. But we're here on behalf of Alpha Zeta! And we aren't looking for just anybody! We're a frat with high principles and we all strive to be the best we can be, with the help of our bros! You can ask anybody around that the Alphas are the best at helping each other through the academic, leadership, and…of course, social aspects of college! But we don't want to tell you EVERYTHING! To find out everything, you're all more than welcome to join us for a meeting at the Alpha frat house tonight at 8."

The next guy, a bulked-up man with a buzzcut, stepped forward. "We all look forward to seeing you there. For freshman, especially, this is a chance to get ahead. Nobody has a better college experience than Greeks and nobody has a better Greek experience than the Alphas! We'll see you tonight at 8."

With the sound of the trumpet, the Alphas walked out of The Den, having left their impression. Davis was mesmerized. If anything, this whole thing left him curious. And when he looked at Kazu and Kenta, he saw they had similar looks.

Takato remained indifferent. "Can you guys believe they make such a big show out of that. I mean, frats are overrated, don't you think?"

Silence.

"I'm there!" Davis grinned.

"So am I!" Kazu piped up.

"Me too!" Kenta added.

Takato sweatdropped. Davis's curiosity was getting the better of him. He wanted to see all about this frat. He was starting to look forward to tonight's meeting.

* * *

After the events of the last few days, this was the first time Kari was feeling as excited as she was. When she was coming back from class, she ran into a young junior who gave her information about a sorority on campus. This being Odaiba U's Rush Week, Kari was thinking about becoming a sorority girl and she would soon have her chance. There would be a meeting tomorrow night.

She ran through her door and looked for someone to tell. She found Gatomon, without her coat, cleaning up her litter box. Gatomon had also been feeling down. Not just because of what she's been going through with Renamon, but also because she wasn't there for Kari when Cherrymon attacked. Gatomon felt that as Kari's Digimon partner, she had let her down by not being there to protect her against the rogue Cherrymon.

If there was one thing Kari knew, it was that Gatomon was a good listener. "Gatomon! Guess what happened?"

Gatomon groaned as she emptied her litter box. "You've transferred to a school where I DON'T have to live with Renamon as a roommate?"

"No, I'm joining a sorority!"

Gatomon thought about that. "Ok, I've been in the human world for a long time, but…what's a sorority?"

Kari thought about that. She had never been asked to define a sorority before. "Well…a sorority is like a sisterhood of college girls. It's pretty hard to describe, but…it's like joining a lifelong sisterhood is the best way I can put it."

Gatomon shook her head. "Doesn't sound any different than what you have with Yolei."

Kari sighed. "Like I said, it's hard to explain. But you'll see it for yourself soon."

"My ears are burning, Kari."

Kari turned around to see a smiling Jeri at the door. And she had heard every word.

Kari could hardly contain herself. "Jeri, I'm joining a sorority!"

Someone else walked in behind Jeri. "YOU'RE joining a sorority?!"

Kari sweatdropped when she saw Rika. This was the type of thing that she expected Rika to discourage. But Rika didn't have her usual scowl on her face. Instead, she had a look of curiosity.

Kari nodded happily. "I'm joining Delta Gamma!"

Rika groaned. "PLEASE tell me you didn't just say you're joining the Gammas!"

Kari kept her smile. "Yeah! The meeting's tomorrow night!"

Rika just put a hand on her forehead. "This is just great! Did you have to try and join the same sorority *I* am?!"

Jeri's eyes widened. "Rika? YOU'RE joining a sorority?!"

Rika nodded. "I have family who used to be Gammas and…I want to give it a shot. It even sounds like something I might enjoy."

"That doesn't sound like the Rika I know," Jeri pointed out. "I thought you'd see sorority sisters as stuck-up, prissy, shallow airheads."

"And on any other day, you'd be right. But I'm willing to give the Gammas a chance before I make any judgments. I just can't believe there's a chance that I'll be a sorority sister to…Kari."

Kari grinned. "I see it as something we have in common."

"I don't have ANYTHING in common with you!" Rika growled. "Just because we might be sorority sisters doesn't mean I have to like you."

Kari begged to differ. "But we will become better friends."

Rika held her head. "I need air. Renamon, come with me. I need someone to talk to. Someone I LIKE!"

Renamon, who had been meditating in the corner, got up and walked out with Rika. But before walking out the door, Renamon turned invisible. Kari finally lost her smile and sat on the bed.

Gatomon ran over and sat on the bed. "So tell me more about this sorority."

Kari tried to think of the best way to explain. "Well…in a sorority…"

* * *

Izzy waited patiently as the classroom emptied out. Although he had a lot of questions on his mind, he knew that there was also a class to teach on that day. So he would wait patiently and then ask Professor Onodera after class was over.

Just about every student had filed out with the exception of Henry. He stood at the door and paused briefly before heading out. Izzy got the feeling that he was starting to figure out that Professor Onodera wasn't a real professor.

Finally, after Henry left, Izzy was alone with his professor and it was time to ask some more questions. "Professor Onodera…"

"Izzy, I keep telling you. Please call me Talley."

"Ok…Talley. We need to talk."

Talley shut the door and pulled up a chair. "What is it?"

"Have you come any closer to finding out who this mole is?"

Talley shook her head. "Yamaki's been trying his best, but he hasn't found a single lead. He's been following Professor Marquez around, but he says he doesn't have enough evidence to conclude that she's the mole or that she doesn't even have any ties to the mole at all."

"I was afraid you'd say something like that," Izzy sighed. "It's becoming more imperative that we find out who that mole is. Whoever's bringing Digimon to this world is also after a friend of mine. She was nearly abducted by one of the rogue Digimon last night."

"Is that a fact?" Talley asked, sounding intrigued. "In that case, maybe there IS something we could do! Let me talk to Yamaki. Maybe we can regroup and come up with something."

"I think it'd be a good idea if I come with you," Izzy suggested. "She's a good friend of mine and I think Yamaki needs to know that."

Talley didn't make any effort to stop him. "If that's how you feel, Izzy, then I'd be more than happy to have you come along. Why don't you meet us at the usual rendezvous point tomorrow morning?"

"This is rather urgent. I'd rather meet with Yamaki as soon as possible."

"Yamaki's really busy. Trust me, I've gotten used to it by now. He'll be around tomorrow. You've got to be patient with us, Izzy. We'll do the best we can to help. And trust me, if you bear with us, we can be VERY effective."

Izzy still wasn't sure how effect the old Hypnos crew could be. He had never seen them in action himself, but he would have to trust them. He didn't have any other moves to make and with this unknown adversary pursuing Kari, he would all the help he could get.

* * *

TK was doing some light reading as the day came to a close. He was happy to have the room to himself. Ken was out with Henry trying to regroup and think about what to do next about the whole Yolei situation and Davis said something about heading to a meeting, but he didn't hear which one or what it was about.

Even the Digimon were being relatively quiet. After being relatively active for a while, tonight they were simply watching TV and keeping things to a dull roar. It was enough quiet for TK to get his reading done.

But the quiet didn't last. The door burst open and Davis, Kazu, and Kenta rushed in cheering and hollering. They looked really excited about something. TK had lost his concentration and just decided to get to the bottom of it now.

"What are you three so happy about?" TK asked curiously.

"We're frat boys!" Kazu answered.

"You're looking at the three newest members of Alpha Zeta!" Davis added.

"Really?" TK asked skeptically. "I may not know much about fraternities, they're not my cup of tea, but are you telling me the Alphas really made you members already?"

"Well…we ARE in the process of pledging," Davis replied. "But how long could that possibly take?"

TK knew the answer to that. Certain fraternities were known to have would-be members pledge for months. And if pledging was as bad as he had heard it was, Davis, Kazu, and Kenta would soon be begging for it all to be over. But TK didn't want to be the one to burst their bubble. They looked so happy to just be considered for a fraternity. Of course, TK couldn't even understand why they would want to be in a fraternity in the first place.

"So what exactly do you have to do?" TK asked.

"We have to go through our first ritual tomorrow," Kenta answered. "But nobody told us what we'd have to do. I'm sure it's no big deal, right?"

TK didn't say a word. He'd let them find out for themselves. But pledging would get VERY rough for them. Hearing about where his partner came from, Veemon rushed up to Davis.

"So where are you coming from, Davish?"

"Veemon, I'm about to become a member of a cool fraternity! I'll be a part of a brotherhood that'll last a lifetime. Fraternities are a part of what make college so great! And now I'll get the chance to join! As soon as I do some pledging, that is."

Veemon scratched his head. "Pledging?"

"Pledging is like an initiation. Once we prove our loyalty, we're in!"

Veemon looked confused. "So…what exactly is it you have to do?"

Davis didn't have an answer for that. "Well…why don't you come with us tomorrow night to the next meeting. I'll find a place to hide you and you can watch the whole thing."

"Ooh! Sounds like fun!"

TK couldn't help but chuckle. He knew that they were about to get in over their heads. What was sad was that they didn't realize it. But there were some things Davis had to learn for himself and the same went for Kazu and Kenta. Pledging would be something they would never forget.

It didn't take much to get TK's mind on something else. The phone suddenly rang. After the second ring, TK picked it up.

"Hello? **…** What? **…** Tonight? **…** Isn't there anyone else? **…** What? **…** Ok, if you can't find anyone else, I'll do it."

TK sighed and hung up the phone. He couldn't believe his rotten luck. With someone else at the pizza place having a cold, it looked like TK would be forced to work an extra shift tonight. He'd have to ask Ken for his car again.

* * *

The next morning, Izzy went to the usual rendezvous point: the school's computer lab. This would be the place where he would meet Talley and Yamaki and brief them on the situation. They had to be informed about the danger being posed to Kari.

Just like the first time Izzy came for one of these meetings, he saw the computer lab lights were off. He slowly walked in and closed the door, staying the dark like everyone else present. Once the door was closed, one of the lamps turned on. Yamaki had switched it on.

"I've been expecting you, Izzy. I trust you remember Talley. And right beside her is the third member of our team, Riley Ootori."

Izzy noticed the long-haired brunette and waved. "Pleased to make your acquaintance."

Yamaki fumbled with his lighter. "Talley tells me that you have something to tell me regarding our mole-hunting mission."

"The situation has gotten much more serious," Izzy began. "Apparently, whoever's bringing the Digimon to this world is trying to abduct a friend of mine. None of us are sure why, but we know that if we don't act and put a stop to the mole now, my friend may not have much time left."

"Just which friend are we talking about, Izzy?" Yamaki asked. "Give me a name."

"Her name's Kari Kamiya, a freshman majoring in education."

"A DigiDestined?"

"The DigiDestined of Light."

Yamaki paused for a moment and continued fumbling with his lighter. "The best thing we can do is keep a close surveillance on her. However, if we do that, we run a risk of blowing our cover. We must remember that no one must find out that we are undercover, not even the other DigiDestined or the Tamers."

Izzy felt nervous about that one. He had already informed the other older DigiDestined about the undercover Hypnos agents. He couldn't tell Yamaki that he had told.

"Do you have a picture of her with you, Izzy?" Riley asked curiously.

Izzy had only one picture. He reached into his wallet and pulled out a picture of her posing with her brother, Tai, from a couple of months ago. It was the most recent picture he had. He pulled it out and handed it to Riley. She and Talley both hovered over it.

"I recognize her," Riley muttered.

"No way," Talley said skeptically. "We've never seen her before."

"I just saw this girl yesterday before my first class. She was coming out of the building where Delta Gamma was meeting."

"The sorority?" Talley asked.

"She was coming out just before one of the Tamers went in."

Yamaki finally put his lighter down. "Hmm…this could be very interesting. We may be able to use this all to our advantage. I want you two to look into this. Find out if Kari is involved with this sorority. If she is, then we'll make our next move."

"What move would that be?" Izzy asked.

Yamaki smirked. "Oh…you'll see."

Riley sweatdropped. "I have a bad feeling about this."

Izzy was in the dark on this one. Only Yamaki himself, who had a big smirk on his face, knew what he had in mind. And there was nothing else Izzy could do except wait.

* * *

Kari felt butterflies in her stomach as she approached the address she was given. The address was for the sorority house. She didn't know what to expect once she got there. All she knew was that she was about to be judged among other would-be sisters. Kari's sisterhood was far from official and it definitely wasn't guaranteed.

She reached the house a block away from campus and walked up to the front door. The first thing she noticed was loud music coming from inside. She wondered what she was getting herself into. She shyly knocked on the door and got an answer from a young girl about her height with a black cardigan sweater, a white skirt, and long blond hair.

"Hi! You must be one of the girls trying to join Delta Gamma."

"Yeah. My name's Kari."

"My name's Danielle. I'm a senior exchange student from the United States. Come on in, Kari. Let me explain to you what's going on."

Kari walked inside and looked around nervously. There seemed to be a party inside the house's backyard.

"We're having a little party," Danielle explained. "For the Gammas, we value a sister whom we can all relate to. And we definitely value a sister who can hold her own at a social gathering like this one. So tonight, we're just going to observe how you naturally act at one of these social gatherings and judge whether you're Gamma material."

Danielle led Kari into the backyard and Kari saw a dance floor set up. She couldn't help but notice that there were a lot of guys around, as well. She felt rather awkward about that. She already had the feeling that she was messing up with Davis as time went on. She didn't need to make her situation any worse. Then again, perhaps this was the best chance to socialize.

Danielle smiled. "My advice? Just be yourself."

Kari looked around and felt nervous. Then she saw who else was there. Rika was sitting with a lot of the other Gammas and some of their boyfriends. And she was actually having a conversation with them, which was a rare sight for Kari. Not only that, but Rika seemed to be getting some laughs, too. The Gammas looked to be taking a shine to her.

Kari didn't want to think she'd be outdone at a casual gathering. She knew she could just be herself as long as she left her worries behind her. So she shrugged off all of her problems and went in.

This night was just beginning.

* * *

Davis peeked into the door of the local frat house. At first it looked empty and he wasn't about to step inside, but Kazu and Kenta pushed him in. There was a room with the light on and an audible conversation coming from inside, so they all assumed that was the place to go. They stepped into the room with the light on and found several Alphas in cardigan sweaters.

The same Alpha with the blond ponytail from the day before greeted them. "Guys, I want you to take a look at our new pledges. This is Davis, Kazu, and Kenta."

Davis felt like he was already being accepted from the start. He felt very proud of himself. He could tell he was going to like it in this frat.

"So we're in?" Kenta assumed.

"If you can show us that you're Alpha material, then you're in," the other Alpha from the day before said. "And in order to show your mettle and loyalty to Alpha Zeta, it's time for your first initiation ritual."

"Initiation ritual?" Davis repeated.

"Isn't that sort of like hazing?" Kazu pointed out.

The guy with the ponytail shook his head. "Hazing is a thing of the past. We here at Alpha Zeta have grown past such petty things. Hazing a poor sap to the point of exhaustion is so…uncivilized."

"So then what do you have in mind?" Kenta asked curiously.

The Alphas all grinned mischievously. Davis started to feel his stomach sink. He had a bad feeling about this.

* * *

It was a hard night for TK, thus far. When someone couldn't make their shift, he found himself making pizza deliveries, which inconvenienced Ken more than anybody. Since TK's car was still in the shop, he had to borrow Ken's. He had only been making deliveries for about an hour, but TK was already feeling tired. He wanted his impromptu shift to be over, but he had to make a quick delivery to the university.

TK found himself in the sophomore dorms as he held up a large pepperoni and sausage pizza. The aroma filled the room while he walked towards what seemed to be very familiar territory. In fact, the room number looked very familiar. When he realized where he was, TK eagerly knocked on the door.

Sure enough, it was Catherine who answered the door. TK nearly dropped the pizza when he saw the French girl wearing nothing more than a silk green nightgown with her blond hair down. The sight of her perfect body was enough to leave TK speechless.

"Bonjour, pizza boy," she said seductively.

"H-H-Hello…" TK stuttered.

"How much do I owe you?"

TK handed her the pizza and quickly reached into his wallet. He took out the money and put it in his own pocket.

"It's on me!"

Catherine giggled. "You know, TK? Yolei went out tonight, so…I'm on my own tonight. And it'd be a shame if I ate it all by myself. If you're not busy…I'd love to share it with you."

TK grinned. "They won't even know I'm gone. I can spare a few minutes."

Catherine led TK in by the hand and sat him by a small wooden table. They opened up the pizza box and reached for two slices that were side-by-side. TK didn't want to make a pig out of himself, so he made sure to eat with the utmost manners. Unfortunately, one of the big Italian sausages fell onto the rug under the table. The sausage was full of sauce and TK was worried it would leave a stain.

Before the sauce could drip down from the sausage and reach the plush rug, TK ducked underneath the table to pick it up. Once he was down there, he got a fresh view of Catherine's fine legs and instantly found himself on cloud nine. They certainly looked very gorgeous.

Then TK tried shrugging it off. He couldn't recall a single moment where Kari's looks drove him this wild. Here he was, alone with a beautiful French girl in a revealing silk nightgown with stunning good looks that would drive any other man with a pulse to the brink of insanity. And the best part was that there was no sign of Tai anywhere.

Yet…oddly enough…he was feeling guilty. Any other guy in the world would envy TK's position more than anything. But TK honestly felt guilty.

Finally, TK sat back up and sat on the chair. He took a bite out of his pizza and had a melancholy look on his face. He should have been happy…yet he wasn't.

"TK…what is wrong?"

TK tried to keep his eyes off the French girl. "Uh…nothing. I'm…fine."

Catherine hung her head down. "I don't think you're telling me the truth. TK…I'm sorry if I betrayed your trust by going out with Tai. I guess it's time I start growing up and changing my old habits."

That caught TK by surprise. "Habits? You mean there's been ANOTHER time where you've dated two guys at once?"

Catherine nodded. "I'm not proud of it. That ended with somebody's feelings being hurt, too. That's why today, I finally decided that…maybe it was time for me to stop leading you two on and make a decision. And I decided…I'd like to be with you, TK."

TK still kept his eyes away from Catherine. "W-What about Tai?"

"Tai is a sweetheart," Catherine sighed. "He's just like I remember him. But…the chemistry just isn't there. I don't feel anything for him romantically. I searched my heart, TK, and it didn't lead me to Tai. It led me to you."

TK knew he should have been happy. He should have been on top of the world. He finally had what he wanted…or…at least what he THOUGHT he wanted. Yet, TK didn't feel good at all. He still felt guilty.

"TK…" Catherine said somberly. "Something IS bothering you. Why aren't you looking at me? I said I was sorry."

"It's not you."

"Then why won't you look at me?"

TK finally brought himself to look Catherine in the eye. He saw a look of remorse and a plea for his heart. He wanted to give it to her…yet he couldn't. His mind was on someone else.

"Catherine…I'm sorry…I have to go."

TK got up, but felt Catherine's soft grip on his right hand. He didn't want to look back at her face out of fear of what he would see, but he couldn't keep himself from looking there. Sure enough, Catherine had a tear rolling down her cheek.

"You…don't want to be with me, TK?"

TK closed his eyes. "I…need to think about it. Please…let me go."

Catherine reluctantly loosened her grip. Without hesitation, TK left the room and didn't look back. He was happy that he had beaten Tai for Catherine's affections. He was happy that he was about to finally move on. Yet…he couldn't.

As he walked out…he couldn't stop thinking about Kari.

* * *

The night was going very well for Kari. She was getting along with all the sisters from the sorority and was also getting to know some of the interesting guys that the sisters had invited. And while she was socializing, she couldn't help but notice that the sisters were observing her and the way she conducted herself. Kari felt like she was being studied.

Of course, Rika was also doing some interaction of her own. She was mixing in very well with the sorority sisters which continued to leave Rika more surprised than anything else. This was very unlike Rika and Kari could only wonder what sparked such a change in her sour roommate's usual demeanor. It was almost like this was a whole new Rika.

The night was beginning to come to a close as the music suddenly stopped. Everything came to a halt as a trio of Gammas, including Danielle, walked over to the front door. One of them, a short girl with long black hair that flowed just to the small of her back, took a nearby microphone.

"Good…whoa, hello! I guess this thing's on. Ahem…good evening. My name's Leezel. We want to thank you all on behalf of Delta Gamma for coming tonight. We're glad you could make it and I'm very pleased to say that we like what we've seen. You'd all make fine members of our sorority, but sadly there isn't room for all of you. So for the next few minutes, we're going to make a decision as to who will be the newest Gammas, so sit tight for a couple of minutes and we'll come back out in a little while to let you all know the results."

Kari gulped. She was nervous, thinking she couldn't possibly make it. Her self-esteem didn't go any higher when she noticed Rika was standing behind her. But as long as she was there, Kari wanted to get a question out of the way.

"Rika…what made you want to be a Gamma?"

"I have my reasons," Rika said in her usual Rika-like tone.

Kari didn't get very far with that question. Not knowing what else to ask, Kari just decided to wait.

* * *

When Davis heard the old stories of fraternity hazing, he was frankly expecting the worst. He had heard how physically draining those rituals could be. It didn't take him long to see that the days of physically demanding hazing were over.

Of course, it appeared that the days of embarrassingly awkward hazing were alive and well.

"I can't believe we're doing this," Kenta grumbled. "Why are we doing this again, Kazu?"

"To prove that we're willing to do anything for the frat," Kazu answered. "Now stop complaining! What would the guys say if they heard you? And don't call me Kazu, remember? The Alphas gave us the names we're supposed to use while we pledge."

"Oh yeah. Sorry, Curly."

"No problem, Larry."

Veemon poked his head out of a nearby metal trashcan. "Davish…is this what you guys do in a fraternity?"

Davis sweatdropped as he stood on the busy Odaiba street corner. He was dressed in a hairy gorilla suit. The suit's head had the mouth open so Davis's face could be seen. Of course, as embarrassing as wearing that suit was, it wasn't anywhere close to the humiliation of what Kazu and Kenta were forced to wear on this night.

Kazu was wearing a giant green Greek letter alpha costume while Kenta wore a giant black Greek letter zeta costume. The costumes were rather heavy and both guys were nearly falling over and struggling to stand up straight. There were also no openings for sleeves, so they were forced to keep their arms at their sides. The costumes only left a tiny hole in the front for Kazu and Kenta to stick their faces out. And obviously, the bizarre costumes were drawing attention.

"Veemon, get back in there," Davis muttered. "I can't let anybody see you. Besides…I'm busy. And while I'm doing frat business, my name's Moe."

"Ok, Moe," Veemon asked curiously. "So what are you busy with?"

Davis faced the crowd of passing people and hopped on one leg. "Ooh! Ooh! We go ape for Alpha Zeta!"

"We go ape for Alpha Zeta!" Kazu and Kenta quickly added.

A few minutes passed before a Mercedes pulled up to the corner. The window rolled down to reveal one of the Alphas.

"Good job, guys! You're really proving you're Alpha material with your enthusiasm."

"Oh…we're enthusiastic, alright," Davis grinned. "So…how long are we supposed to do this?"

"For another three hours," the Alpha grinned. "Good luck, pledges."

The Mercedes rolled off, taking a turn at the corner and driving over a puddle. The puddle splashed over the three pledges. Davis turned around to see that Kazu and Kenta had skeptical looks on their faces. Davis was quick to remind them not to give up.

"This'll all be worth it when it's over!"

* * *

It was the longest 20 minutes Kari had experienced in a long time. She looked on as several Gammas approached wannabe sisters and let them down gently, telling them they weren't Delta Gamma material. Although their intentions were to be as gentle as possible, the whole thing still came off as rather intimidating.

One-by-one, wannabes dropped like flies. There were only 15 minutes remaining when Leezel took the microphone again. Kari looked around for Danielle, the first Gamma she met, until she noticed that Danielle was right behind her.

"How do you think I did?" Kari asked nervously.

"I definitely put in a good word for you," Danielle said kindly. "You're everything we look for in a sister."

Leezel, with all eyes on her, cleared her throat. "Well…we've made our decision. If you're still here, then it's safe to say you've made it. You're a member of Delta Gamma…"

Girlish cheers immediately filled the sorority house. But it didn't look like Leezel was finished.

"With the exception of one girl. We'd like to ask Kari Kamiya and Rika Nonaka to step forward."

Kari felt her heart sink. She felt it in her stomach that she didn't make it. She timidly stepped forward right beside Rika. Although Rika was still keeping her cool façade, Kari sensed she was also nervous.

"You two are everything we look for in a Delta Gamma sister," Leezel said. "And that's why it was so difficult for us to come to this decision. We all discussed it verbosely and…Kari…Rika…one of you will be a sister and the other won't. HOWEVER……we were unable to decide which of you would get the honor."

"In other words, you two are tied for the last spot," Danielle clarified.

"Thank you, Danielle. We all voted on which of you to make into a Gamma and the vote is deadlocked. So our proposal is…we'd like to vote again a week from tonight. In the meantime, we'd like to see how you act everyday just to see who would better represent us. But to make sure you're acting totally natural, we're going to find some former Delta Gamma alumni to observe you. And hopefully, what we hear from those alumni will help us break our deadlock."

Kari shifted her gaze to see that Rika wasn't terribly thrilled with this development. Kari wasn't exactly happy knowing that the drama would be prolonged for another week, either.

"With that said, congratulations to all of you who made it," Leezel smiled. "And Kari and Rika…good luck to the both of you. Let's have a friendly handshake."

Kari and Rika briefly hesitated before shaking hands. As if things couldn't strain the two roommates any further, they would now be divided over a sorority spot. Rika shot Kari a quick glare, which reminded her more of the roommate she had come to know since the day she moved into the university.

The week was about to get intense.

* * *

Davis, still in his gorilla costume, finally found himself at the front entrance to the freshman dorms. After a whole night of hopping on one leg and acting like an ape for the fraternity, the night was over and it was time to go to bed. He looked down at his watch to see that it was 4 in the morning. He wanted to go straight to bed. So when he went through the front door, he didn't even bother to notice that there were two others behind him.

"Hey!"

"Davis!"

Davis looked behind him and saw that the front door collided with Kazu and Kenta and sent them toppling over like dominoes. They were still in their Greek letter costumes and were now flailing on their backs. Davis sighed and helped them up.

"Is THIS what being in a fraternity is, Davish?" Veemon asked.

"I sure hope not," Kenta grumbled.

"Is your name Davish…er…Davis?" Davis snapped. He turned to his partner Digimon. "This won't last. We're just being initiated. It'll get a lot better soon…I think."

"I'm guessing you guys are pledging?"

Davis, Kazu, and Kenta looked over to see Matt casually standing by his door.

"Isn't it a little late for you to be up?" Kazu asked.

"Eh, I couldn't sleep. Sora kept me up all night while she tried on wigs. Judging by the monkey suit and the letters, I'd guess…Alpha Zeta?"

"He's good," Kenta muttered.

Davis grinned. "We made it, Matt! Can you believe it? Now we just have to go through these initiation rituals."

"And how long is this supposed to last?" Matt asked.

"Uh…how long IS this supposed to last?" Davis asked his two colleagues.

"You're asking US?" Kazu asked.

Matt shrugged. "That's all you had to tell me. Good night, guys."

Davis saw the message Matt was trying to send. "Hey Matt…this IS worth it!"

"Whatever you say, Davis."

Matt went into his room and shut the door. Kazu and Kenta nearly fell over again due to the weight of their costumes. Not knowing who else to turn to, Davis turned to Veemon.

"This IS worth it!"

* * *

At the crack of dawn, Yamaki waited patiently by the phone as he graded papers. One of the downsides to this undercover job was knowing that would often have to spend sleepless nights slaving over papers. Although he was impressed with a lot of the work he was seeing, including the work of a recent transfer into his class. This new addition to his 10 o'clock class definitely astounded him with his awesome work and he definitely appeared to have the potential to become a best-selling author.

"Hmm…Takeru Takaishi…"

Just as Yamaki was halfway through Takeru's paper, he heard a knock at the door. He didn't think someone would actually come to his door. But knowing who it might be, he got up and walked over to answer it. Indeed, it was Riley and Talley.

"Sir? We've done some digging and we've got some good news," Riley began.

"We have something on that Kamiya girl," Talley said proudly.

"Well, I'm waiting to hear it," Yamaki said. "What do you have?"

"Our sources around campus told us that she is indeed attempting to join the Delta Gamma sorority," Riley reported. "However, she hasn't exactly made it yet. In fact, she's on the waiting list, if you will. She's fighting for the last spot on the sorority with another girl."

"And that's not the best part," Talley added. "The other girl is one of the Tamers."

Yamaki chuckled. "This is all very intriguing. If what you're saying is true, then this just might work."

"What might work?" Riley asked.

"I've got a job for you two," Yamaki explained. "If the rogues are, in fact, after the Kamiya girl, then we have to keep a close surveillance on her. And I think the best way to do that is to stay close to that sorority. That's where you two come in."

"I have a bad feeling about this," Riley muttered to herself.

"I want you two to stay close to the sorority and pose as Delta Gamma alumni."

Talley's eyes lit up. "You want US to be sorority girls?"

"If you two can get into the sorority as alumni, it'll allow you to keep a close watch on the Kamiya girl," Yamaki answered. "I'll make sure to supply you with all the false documents you need in case any questions arise. And to make it even more convincing, I'll even supply you two with a picture from your…ahem…sorority days. Of course, it'll take quite a bit of effort to make your images look years younger, but I heard Adobe Photoshop can work miracles."

The two female Hypnos agents weren't amused.

"What? You two can't take a joke?"

"You want to talk about age?" Riley smirked. "Why don't we talk about your…"

"OK, that's enough of that! You two have your mission. Any questions?"

The two ladies exchanged smirks. It looked like they were pleased with this new order. They shifted their gaze to Yamaki and eagerly nodded.

"Excellent. This should all go off without a hitch."

"So when do we start?" Talley asked excitedly.

Yamaki had only one answer. "As soon as we equip you with…the right stuff."

  


Next Week: The fight for a sorority spot begins between Kari and Rika. The wild card will definitely be the presence of two certain Hypnos agents posing as alumni. But there's one question that hasn't been answered. Just why HAS Rika suddenly taken interest in a sorority? Can Kari and Rika stay on their best behavior, or will a couple of certain guys (Davis, TK, Ryo) get on their bad side? Ken and Henry are just about set to straighten everything out with Yolei, but will they ever get around to it after they receive a distress call from the Digital World? And how much farther are the initiation rituals between Davis, Kazu, and Kenta going to go? And what'll happen when Tai finds out about Catherine's true feelings? With the old DigiDestined leader already feeling fragile because of his age, will this put him further in a pit of misery? Find out on the next Digimon: The College Years!

  


Any comments? Then mail me at AmericanCaptor@hotmail.com and don't forget to review below!


	24. Sky's The Limit

Last Week: Odaiba University had its rush week, in which fraternities and sororities welcomed new recruits. That included Davis, Kazu, and Kenta all pledging to Alpha Zeta…while going through a brutal initiation process. Kari and Rika, in the meantime, both tried to pledge Delta Gamma, but there's only one spot remaining and only one of them will make it. What they don't know is that our undercover Hypnos agents will also be monitoring them during this process. As for TK, he was surprised when he made a delivery to Catherine…who went on to tell him how she felt. While TK wanted to feel euphoric, he had someone else lingering on his mind: Kari.

  


**Digimon: The College Years**

Episode 24- Sky's The Limit

  


After what felt like an eternity of enduring this whole ordeal, Ken had finally decided to do something about his troubles with Yolei. Of course, to do that, he needed someone at his side and that someone…was Henry. Fortunately, Henry was just as eager to resolve this situation as Ken was, so he was more than happy to help out.

"So this'll all be over by the time we get back?" Henry asked.

"Yolei isn't the type to be stubborn," Ken answered. "She'll take the hint. Things between her and I may not get better, but at least you'll be off the hook."

"I still don't know why you want that, Henry," Terriermon chimed in from atop Henry's shoulder. "She's a pretty girl."

"She's MY girl!" Ken growled. "Who asked YOU to get involved, anyway?"

"He won't butt in anymore," Henry said assuredly. "I'm just bringing him along so I can keep an eye on him. And because, even though he might mess up sometimes, he's still my best friend."

Ken couldn't help but smile. "I know exactly what you mean."

"Thanks, Ken," Wormmon grinned from atop Ken's shoulder. "So you really think Yolei will take this well?"

"Yolei's never been the type of girl to pine over a guy for a long period of time," Ken pointed out. "Well…except for me, of course. She'll be ok."

Ken was feeling confident about this, but he noticed Henry was a little skeptical. Perhaps Henry got to know Yolei's more "charming" characteristics. Hopefully, none of those would be present today.

After calling Catherine, Ken found out Yolei was in the computer lab. So that was the destination. When they reached the computer lab, they found it empty with the exception of Yolei. She looked to be working on a paper.

Ken cleared his throat. "Uh…Yolei?"

"We…have something we need to talk to you about…" Henry began.

"I'm listening," Yolei said without taking her eyes off the computer screen.

Ken and Henry exchanged glances, trying to decide which of them should go first. Finally, Henry begrudgingly volunteered himself.

"Well…Yolei…these last few weeks have been…a lot of fun, I'll admit. But…"

"Hey! Check this out!" Yolei interrupted. "An e-mail from the Digital World!" Wasting no time, she double-clicked the e-mail to read it. "I need help. Please come quickly. I have no one else to turn to." Yolei scratched her head. "Hmm…it's unsigned and I don't recognize the e-mail address. All I have here are a set of coordinates."

Yolei took out her Digivice and looked like she was about to open a Digiport, but briefly paused. She shifted her gaze to Ken and Henry.

"What do you say, guys? You coming?"

Ken and Henry exchanged glances again and shrugged. They then turned to Yolei and nodded affirmatively.

"Alright! I haven't been to the Digital World in a long time! Digiport open!"

Yolei eagerly opened the Digiport with her Digivice and went through. Ken and Henry sighed and went in right behind her.

It looked like everything would have to wait while they attended to this distress call.

* * *

Kari was usually content with eating her breakfast in The Den, but today felt like an awkward day. And it wasn't merely because Davis was sitting in front of her wearing a gorilla suit. But she was also nervous about what this week would bring. She constantly found herself looking over her shoulder.

"What's wrong, Kari?" Davis asked.

"Well, Davis…"

"Ahem…"

"Oh, sorry. Well, Moe…I really want to make it into Delta Gamma. At least for you it's easier. You KNOW you're in. All you have to do is parade around in a gorilla suit."

"That's all, huh?" Davis said dryly.

"But for me…I'm still not in yet. And I don't even know what to expect right now. The Delta Gamma alumni could start looking at me any minute. They could even be watching me right now!"

Davis pointed forward. "Is that them?"

"AAH!"

Kari ducked under the table, which in hindsight may not have been the best move. If the alumni really were there, they wouldn't take too kindly to Kari's hasty action.

"Oh, never mind. Those are Delta Theta sweaters."

Kari came out from underneath the table. "DON'T scare me like that!"

"Wow, Kari. I haven't seen you this nervous since you did your paper at the last minute."

"Which I STILL haven't gotten back, by the way."

"Right. But…maybe you should relax."

"RELAX?! That's easy for you to say, Monkey Boy! You KNOW you're in. Not only could I still be out, but I could lose the spot to…Rika."

Davis calmly took a bite out of his sandwich. "You'll be just fine, Kari. They'll see you for the great girl that you are and you'll be a shoo-in."

"Thanks, Davis."

"If not, then I'll be a monkey's uncle."

Kari sweatdropped. Only Davis would find a way to fit such a cornball joke into this situation.

"Just how long do you have to stay in that suit?" Kari asked.

"Until the next part of my initiation ritual…whenever that is."

"Any idea what they're about to do to you?"

"FOR me!" Davis corrected. "Not TO me. And I don't know yet. I guess whenever they decide to call. In the meantime, I have to keep walking around campus like this."

Kari giggled. "Good luck, King Kong."

She was enjoying seeing Davis in this position. She only wished she could see what Alpha Zeta had in store for him next.

But Kari had her own issues to worry about.

* * *

Takato had just finished paying for his food…and Guilmon's food. Guilmon was wearing his usual white sweatshirt, indicating he was masquerading as the Odaiba Dragons' mascot. Takato couldn't believe his partner was STILL getting away with this disguise. No one seemed to notice he was a Digimon…which was definitely a good thing. If there was some good to be found in Guilmon's recent endeavor, it was that Takato could now freely go out with his partner. Although people would occasionally stare at the mascot that always seemed to remain in costume.

Takato had a modest submarine sandwich, while Guilmon carried a tray that was filled with food. Guilmon's meal was enough to feed a small infantry and Takato could only sweatdropped while he paid the price of this large amount of food.

"Is that enough for you or would you like a Scooby Snack with that?" Takato cracked.

"This should last until practice, Shaggy," Guilmon grinned.

Takato spotted an empty table. He was about to move over there, before…

"Psst…Goggle Head!"

Takato recognized that voice. He looked around until he saw someone sitting outside The Den. It was Rika and she was waving him and Guilmon over to sit with her. Takato simply shrugged and walked over there.

"Hey Rika. What's up?"

"I'm in a tight spot, Takato," Rika sighed. "I'm not exactly in the sorority yet."

"You didn't make it?" Takato frowned.

"Not exactly. There's one spot left…and it's down to me and…ugh…Kari."

"Oh…" Takato hummed. He saw the problem now. He realized that Kari wasn't exactly one of Rika's favorite people in the world. Although, he couldn't see why. She was a very nice girl.

"I can still get in, but they're having two alumni come in to watch me," Rika explained. "The problem is, I don't know who they are and they're going to go completely undercover. For all I know, they could be watching me right now, but I'll take the chance that they're not right now. Takato, I need your help."

"My help? What can I do?"

"Takato…you've known me for years. And you know that sometimes I can be…"

"Moody?" Takato cut in.

"Grouchy?" Guilmon added.

"Crabby?"

"Ill-tempered?"

"Cranky?"

"Sour?"

"Just plain nasty?"

"Ok, that's enough!" Rika snapped. Then she quieted herself. "So maybe I can be all those things sometimes. Look, I've never told you this, but you bring out the best in me."

Takato was taken aback. "*I* bring out the best in you? I don't know about that one. I seem to remember…you know…"

"That was two years ago, Takato! I can't believe you still remember that!"

"It wasn't my fault that date went bad, but you nearly took my head off! And you never DID apologize."

"Is that what you want?!" Rika snarled, with a vein nearly popping out of her forehead. Then she composed herself. "Ok, ok, I'm sorry. But you really do bring out the best in me. It's been that way since we started high school. That's why I need your help. I need you to hang out with me for the rest of the week and make sure I don't lose my temper."

Takato blinked. "That's a pretty tough task, Rika."

"What do you mean by…?!"

"See? You're about to lose your temper right now!"

Rika calmed herself again. "You're exactly right. I'm sorry. This is why I need you around. If it looks like I'm about to blow my top, I need you to give me some kind of signal. I can't mess up, Takato. I need to be nearly perfect to be in this sorority and I'm already at a disadvantage, being matched up against the Queen of Perkiness."

"Why do you want to be a part of Delta Gamma so badly?"

Rika hesitated. "I have my reasons. Just say you'll help me, Takato. You too, Guilmon."

Takato sighed. "Ok, I'll help."

"Me too," Guilmon added.

"Thank you. Now we'll start our week off by having lunch together. And Takato…don't get too close. I don't want any of the others to get any ideas."

Takato chuckled. "Rika, that's all ancient history. I'm sure nobody remembers that."

"Yeah right," Rika scoffed. "I'll bet you still talk about those days with Guilmon all the time."

"You give yourself way too much credit," Takato snickered.

"What days are we talking about, Takato?" Guilmon asked.

Takato whispered the answer into his ear and Guilmon gulped.

"Oh…THOSE days."

* * *

Ken couldn't believe he was in the Digital World today of all days. He was hoping to get all of this drama with Yolei behind him, but he found himself on a detour. Henry and Terriermon looked like they wanted to get all of this over with, as well. Yolei, looking energetic, obviously had no idea what was going on.

On another note, Ken had no idea what he was even doing in the Digital World in the first place. There was no indication of where that e-mail came from. All Yolei was given were a set of coordinates. None of them knew who sent the e-mail, but Ken and Yolei couldn't help but notice they were in familiar territory.

"Yolei…doesn't it feel like we've been here before?" Ken asked.

"Looks familiar," Yolei answered. "Don't you agree, Wormmon?"

"I've seen this place before," Wormmon replied.

"Somebody want to fill US in?" Terriermon asked.

"I've never been in this part of the Digital World before," Henry pointed out. "It looks a lot more different. It's lush and lively. Not like the rock and desert of Zhuqiaomon's region of the Digital World."

"I wish I could put my finger on where we are," Yolei grumbled to herself.

Terriermon sniffed. "Hey…what's that smell?"

Wormmon sniffed, too. "That smells…like soup."

"Soup?" Ken repeated. "Yolei? Are we where I think we are?"

It didn't take long for Ken to have his question answered. They soon reached a lone restaurant in the middle of their path. Ken started to get a good idea of where he was. And sure enough, a familiar face came out of the front door to greet them.

Henry held out his Digivice. "Tapirmon, rookie level. Animal vaccine type Digimon."

"I'm glad you're all here," Tapirmon said before Henry could reel off more info. "I take it you all received my e-mail?"

"You sent out that distress call?" Yolei asked. "What's going on?"

"Things have been just awful here lately," Tapirmon explained. "Digitamamon is on the verge of losing his mind. He's nearly lost it since the emergence of…competition."

Ken was taken by surprise. "Did you say 'competition'?"

"There's a new restaurant set up less than a quarter mile from here and we've been losing all of our business. We desperately need some business and that's why I've called you. You've always been our best customers."

"You called us here to buy a meal?" Yolei asked.

"That, too. But like I said, Digitamamon has just about lost it. He may do something rash if this whole situation doesn't ease soon. Maybe you can help calm him down."

"Uh…we'll give it our best shot," Yolei shrugged.

"Great! Come in. Allow me to escort you all to a table."

"Didn't even bother to introduce us," Terriermon muttered to himself.

Tapirmon led them all towards the restaurant. Ken hadn't realized how long it's been since he's eaten soup prepared by Digitamamon, but apparently it's been longer than he thought because some new competitor had moved in.

Knowing Digitamamon's temper, maybe this wasn't the best time to see him, but Ken would do his best to help calm him down.

* * *

Rika walked down campus with her books in her hands. She made sure to look over her should wherever she went, since she had no clue where the alumni would possibly be hiding. Takato and Guilmon both gave her strange looks, noticing how different she was acting. She was even SMILING.

"This is all going so well," Rika said cheerfully. "The day's almost over and I haven't even lost my temper."

"You're doing great, Rika," Takato smiled.

"I've never seen you like this," Guilmon added. "You've gone almost the entire day without getting mad or putting anybody down."

"This isn't as hard as I thought," Rika said with a tone of satisfaction. "I can maintain my temper. I wonder why it was so hard for me to be so nice?"

As if on cue, Rika got an answer. In the middle of her walk back to her dorm, Rika ran into Kazu and Kenta. And they were wearing ridiculous costumes. Kazu had on a giant Greek letter alpha and Kenta was wearing a giant Greek letter zeta. They looked like total tools.

This was like Kryptonite to Rika. This was just begging for a putdown or an insult. It took every ounce of willpower to keep from making a stinging remark. She knew that the alumni could very well be watching.

"Hey, Chumley," Kazu grinned. "Hey, Rika. I haven't seen you two get this close since…"

"Kazu…now's not the best time," Takato muttered.

"Ahem…we have OTHER names, you know."

"Oh, right. Curly, this isn't the best time."

Rika flinched upon hearing that moniker. There was so much material she could use. Yet she was on a virtual muzzle, keeping her silenced.

"Where are you three off to?" Kenta asked curiously.

"We're taking Rika back to her room," Takato answered. "She needs to get back quick since it's the only place she can…" He leaned over to Kenta's ear. "…act naturally."

"What do you mean?" Kenta whispered back.

"Rika has to act nice for the rest of the week. She's going out for a spot in a sorority and there could be alumni watching over her, so she can't be…you know…Rika."

"That explains why she hasn't made fun of us yet," Kazu snickered, having overheard them. "Hey Rika, what do you think of the costumes? Be honest."

Rika felt like going on a profane tirade. Kazu was purposely doing this to her. As soon as this was all over, she would kill him. But until then, she had to be nice, in case there were any alumni watching.

"They're SO you," Rika answered politely.

"Anything else you'd like to…?"

"Would you look at the time? I have to get going!"

Without even waiting for Takato or Guilmon, Rika started walking away quickly. She had to get out of there before her impulses got the better of her. But she did give herself credit. It took a lot of willpower and she handled it very well.

As long as nothing else happened, she would be just fine.

* * *

Ken knocked on the kitchen door. "Hello? Digitamamon?"

There was nobody in the kitchen. Tapirmon looked around but found no signs of Digitamamon. The only thing remaining was the fresh scent of soup.

"That smells good," Terriermon said hypnotically. He jumped off of Henry's shoulder. "I'm sure he won't mind if I take a taste."

Terriermon walked over to the steaming pot of soup. He leaned into the pot, keeping his balance with the tips of his ears, and was about to stick his tongue in. What he didn't see was Digitamamon storming in from the back entrance. And when the egg-shaped Digimon saw Terriermon leaning in, he grabbed a wooden spoon and clocked him in the back of his head.

"NO SLURPING!" Digitamamon snapped. "What do you think you're doing?!"

"Hey, what's the big idea?!" Terriermon asked angrily as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Nobody takes free samples! If you want soup, you'll have to pay for it like everybody else! And with the way that sandwich jerk keeps taking my business, you can have a free sample over my deleted body!"

"Sandwich jerk?" Yolei repeated.

Digitamamon finally noticed Ken, Wormmon, and Yolei. "My best customers! I'm so relieved to see you again! What can I get you? Some soup? Some chow mein? Some wantons? Some fried rice?"

Ken thought about that. "Nothing for us today, Digitamamon. But we brought a couple of new friends. I'm sure they're more than eager for some of your best stuff."

Digitamamon noticed Henry for the first time. "I am the owner of this fine eating establishment, Digitamamon. Allow me to bring you some soup. Tapirmon, bring him some of our best soup."

"You just said you don't give free samples," Terriermon growled.

"I'll put it on Yolei's tab," Digitamamon responded. He took the bowl that Tapirmon handed him and gave it to Henry. "Try it. You'll love it."

Henry grabbed two spoons and passed one to Terriermon. They both inhaled deeply, taking in the delicious aroma of the soup, before scooping up a spoonful and taking a taste.

"Hey, that's really good!" Henry said cheerfully.

"I've never tasted anything so good!" Terriermon added. "It sure beats food from The Den."

"I wish everyone else would realize that," Digitamamon grumbled. "They're all buying sandwiches from that new restaurant. My place hasn't seen more that two customers a day in months."

"Just who IS this guy anyway?" Yolei demanded.

As if on cue, someone came through the front door. At first, Ken thought it was a customer. But when they went out to check, they only saw a Digimon who looked eerily similar to Digitamamon. He had the same egg-shelled body, but the shell was a dark color. He also had a set of jaws with eyeballs all over them and a set of arms with wings on his back. And in his hand was a plastic bag.

Henry took out his Digivice. "Devitamamon, Mega level. Mutant Data type. His Black Claw attack can bring a chill down anyone's spine."

"What are YOU doing here?!" Digitamamon shouted. "Don't you have your own customers to worry about?! How dare you barge in here uninvited?!"

"You need to switch to decaf, Digitamamon," Devitamamon snickered. "I just came in here to see how business was going. But clearly, everyone's avoiding this place like the digi-plague."

"That's because you keep stealing my customers away!" Digitamamon pointed out. "You and your ruthless tactics have left me without a single patron! I ought to teach you a lesson right now!"

"That isn't necessary, Digitamamon," Tapirmon said hastily. "We have customers now. And they'd never think of leaving us."

"Is that so?" Devitamamon chimed in. "Maybe they just need an alternative."

Devitamamon reached into his plastic bag and pulled out…a submarine turkey sandwich with all the fixings. Looking at the sandwich, Ken had to admit that it looked appetizing. Devitamamon took a sharp knife out of the bag and cut the sandwich into several pieces. He passed one to Ken.

"Here you go, human," Devitamamon offered. "Try THIS and tell me it's not the best sandwich you've ever had."

Ken and Wormmon each took a piece of the sandwich and tasted it. As much as he hated to admit it, the sandwich really did tantalize his taste buds.

"Hey…this really IS good!"

"I love it!" Wormmon added.

Digitamamon's shell just about turned red. "Traitors!"

Devitamamon passed a piece of sandwich to Yolei, Henry, and Terriermon. "You three try it. You'll love it! Guaranteed."

Yolei and Henry took a bite and gave approving nods. Terriermon took a bite out of his sandwich…and kept eating. For him, the taste must have been addicting.

"That's the best sandwich I've had in years!" Terriermon grinned. "What's in it?"

"The usual fixings and some secret ingredients," Devitamamon answered.

"What are those secret ingredients?" Terriermon asked curiously.

"IF I TOLD YOU, THEY WOULDN'T BE SECRET, WOULD THEY?!" Devitamamon snapped, towering over Terriermon much like Digitamamon would if he were in the same position.

Terriermon flinched. "Momentai! It was just a question."

"Sorry. I get sensitive when people ask for my ingredients, just like Digitamamon would."

Speaking of Digitamamon, Ken saw that the soup-server looked like he was about to blow a gasket. This looked to be a very volatile situation that could explode at any moment.

"But if you want plenty more where that came from, why don't you humans come and see MY place?" Devitamamon suggested. "I guarantee you only the best."

Henry shrugged. "I guess it couldn't hurt."

"Let's check it out," Yolei added.

Devitamamon inched towards a huffing Digitamamon. "You're invited too. Why don't you come and see exactly WHY you've been getting smoked?"

"I'd be glad to," Digitamamon growled. "I want to see what's so special about this place."

With that, Devitamamon started leading them all out the door. As Ken walked out, he was starting to wonder how he ended up in the middle of this. He started this whole day off just wanting to talk to Yolei.

* * *

Davis looked down at the directions he was given. "This is the place, alright."

Davis, Kazu, and Kenta all found themselves in an airport hangar, full of private planes. The directions one of the Alpha Zeta brothers had given them led them here. Their initiation rituals weren't over by a long shot. In fact, they were all still wearing their costumes. But Davis was starting to wonder just why they were called here of all places.

"Greetings, pledges!"

Behind one of the small planes, came the two Alpha Zeta brothers that Davis had come to recognize by now.

"Today, you guys will be initiated in a whole different way. Are you guys all ready?"

Davis nodded eagerly. "We're ready! Right, guys?"

Davis turned around and saw that Kazu and Kenta briefly hesitated before nodding. Davis didn't know why they would pause like that. Whatever was in store couldn't possibly be that bad.

"Great to hear that!" the Alpha with the ponytail grinned. "Now go on and get on the plane."

Davis's eyes widened. "The plane? We're getting on the plane?"

"That's right. So hurry up! Your flight's about to leave."

"Flight?!" Kazu repeated.

The Alphas quickly started pushing Davis, Kazu, and Kenta onto the plane. Davis didn't have any idea when he got here, but it looked like he'd be going on a flight. He still didn't know fully what to expect. At first, Davis was starting to think it was a joke. But when the Alphas shut the door behind them, he knew it was no joke.

"Pilot, take us up!"

The engine started with a thunderous roar. Davis, Kazu, and Kenta all sweatdropped. It got even worse when Davis sensed the plane was moving.

"Uh…what exactly are we supposed to do?" Davis asked curiously.

The Alpha with the ponytail just grinned. "You'll see."

Before Davis could ask anymore questions, he felt the plane start taking to the sky.

* * *

The last few days had been rather quiet. His phone wasn't ringing off the hook like it usually was and that was starting to worry one Tai Kamiya. It had been days since he last heard from Catherine and she wasn't answering her phone. It was almost like she was avoiding him. But that couldn't possibly be the case.

As Tai walked towards his dorm, he saw Matt and TK talking by his door. Tai could only wonder what the two brothers were discussing. Suddenly, TK noticed Tai coming and he quickly scampered away. Matt also noticed Tai coming, so he ran into the room and shut the door.

"Hmm…weird."

Tai walked into his room and saw Matt sitting on his bed. As soon as Matt saw him come in, he put on a huge smile. That's when Tai started getting suspicious.

"Hey, Tai!" Matt grinned. "How's everything going? Everything ok?"

Tai gave his best friend a suspicious glance. "Everything's…fine."

"That's good! It really is! So…uh…um…have you…uh…talked to Catherine at all?"

Now Tai was really getting suspicious. Getting asked that question along with seeing TK suddenly run away gave Tai reason to believe something was going on. Something was up and he wanted to find out what it was.

"No. Matt…what's going on?"

"Huh? Why would you think something's going on?"

Tai eyed his best friend suspiciously. "Matt…is there something you're not telling me?"

Matt hesitated. "There's…nothing to tell you, Tai. Uh…so…how's everything going with Catherine?"

That set off alarms in Tai's head. "Ok, what's going on here?"

Matt hastily looked at his watch. "Look at the time. I really should start studying."

"Matt, cut it out! What's going on?"

Matt didn't say anything. Tai was really starting to get worried at this point.

"Tai…you aren't too attached to this girl or anything, are you? I mean…it's not like you REALLY like her…right?"

"That's funny, Matt. Of course I like her! She has everything I look for in a woman. I'd love to be with someone like her. And I have a good feeling about her. I think she feels the same way about me."

"Maybe it's not such a good idea to jump to those kinds of conclusions," Matt said casually. "I mean…you never know, right? She could…like someone else for all we know."

Tai was starting to realize what was going on. "Ok, I get it now. I saw you talking to your brother. I know what this is all about. He's jealous, isn't he? Poor guy. He knows Catherine likes me better than him."

"I…wouldn't be so sure about that. Tai…TK was telling me that Catherine called him over last night because she wanted to tell him how she felt about him. I think she's made her choice."

Tai didn't want to believe that. "How do you know that, Matt?"

"I believe what my brother tells me. And if he tells me something like that, then it's true. He wouldn't lie to me."

"If Catherine's REALLY pining over TK, then wouldn't he have started bragging to me, by now?"

"Actually, I asked him that, too," Matt pointed out. "But TK doesn't want her anymore. He said something about an attack of conscience or whatever. But Tai, the point is…she doesn't want you, she wants TK."

Tai shook his head. "I don't believe you. Catherine would have said something to me."

Matt slowly pointed towards the phone. "Tai…I think you have a message."

Tai looked over at the phone and saw the red light blinking. That indicated that someone had left a message. Now Tai was starting to get a sinking feeling in his stomach. He slowly walked up to the phone and pressed the button to relay the message.

"Tai? It's Catherine. I'm sorry I couldn't bring myself to tell you earlier, but I haven't been able to get a hold of you for days. I never wanted it to come to this, because I do believe you are a nice guy and you're just like I remember you from the first day we met all those years ago. Tai…I've come to a decision. I want to be with TK. I'm sorry. I hope you and I can still be friends…"

Tai didn't let it go any further. He hung up before he could hear the rest of the message. It was true. Catherine had chosen someone else. She had chosen TK.

For Tai, this was all starting to bring back bad memories. It especially hurt whenever he looked over at Matt. Tai had been placed on the shelf once again. He had been overlooked for someone else. Seven years ago, he was passed over for Matt. Today…he was passed over for Matt's brother. It was a sick, twisted irony.

But honestly, he didn't feel surprised. Catherine was a beautiful, young French lady. TK was a young freshman. And Tai felt like he had already reached his peak. He never felt older.

Tai couldn't take it. He started walking out.

"Tai! Where are you going?"

"Out. I'm suddenly feeling…old."

Matt slapped his forehead. "Tai, don't start with that again!"

Tai didn't hear him. He just kept walking forward until he was out the door. There was only one thing in the world that could make him feel young. He started walking towards the front entrance that led to the parking lot. But in his rush, he didn't even notice Sora and Mimi, carrying their Digimon, were walking right by him.

Sora stopped and waved. "Hey, Tai!"

Tai was catatonic. He didn't even return the greeting. In a zombie-like state, he just kept moving forward. Looking concerned, Sora followed him out.

"Tai? Wait!"

Tai just kept going towards the parking lot, hardly giving Sora any chance to catch up. He saw the one thing that would relieve him of his pain. It was his beloved motorcycle. It was the one thing in the world that still made him feel young. He was about to drive off, but Sora stood right in the path of the mighty hog.

"Tai, what's the matter? Is something wrong?"

"I just need to get away for a while. You coming?"

Sora nodded. "If you'll tell me what's wrong, then yes."

Biyomon frowned. "Sora…is that thing safe?"

"It is if I wear a helmet," Sora answered. "And I'm sure you can fly off to safety at a moment's notice. You'll be fine."

"I don't have all day," Tai grumbled. Hop on or I'm going without you."

Sora grabbed the extra motorcycle helmet on the back of Tai's motorcycle and put it on her head. Biyomon held onto Sora's shoulder like there was no tomorrow as they both made sure they were in good position. Once they were both on, Tai revved up the bike and started rolling off with a mighty roar of the engine.

As he rode off, he passed by Matt, who noticed Sora in the back.

"TAI! Where are you going?! And with my girl?!"

Tai didn't hear. He just kept riding away. Where? He had no idea.

* * *

Puppetmon began searching underneath every nook and cranny, but was coming up empty. He knew it had to be difficult to lose anything that big. He had never misplaced any toy of that size before, but indeed it was missing. And once Datamon found out, he wouldn't like it one bit.

He was about to give Datamon the bad news once he reached the main hangar, but the deranged android was busy with matters of his own. Datamon was talking turkey with a ghastly-looking, demonic Digimon. His thick legs and forearms were neon purple and the rest of his body was black. He had black wings on his back and huge ram horns on his head.

"Ah, Puppetmon, I'm glad you're here," Datamon said.

"Hey, who's this bozo?" Puppetmon demanded.

Datamon made the proper introduction. "This is our new associate. Meet Mephistomon."

"You must be Puppetmon," Mephistomon boomed in a frighteningly deep voice. "I am pleased to make your acquaintance."

"Who let you in here, anyway?" Puppetmon asked curiously.

"Mephistomon, here, is our new problem solver," Datamon explained. "Since I'm all out of Black Gears and ChaosGallantmon will only listen to our Digimon Empress, who right now just happens to be who-knows-where, I've taken it upon myself to hire a freelancer to seize the Child of Light."

"Just call me a bounty hunter," Mephistomon said evilly. "I will find this…Child of Light. But I warn you, Datamon, I hate the light! I'll have to charge you extra."

"You'll have your money as soon as you get the job done," Datamon huffed. "Now please wait in that storage room while I make the arrangements to my…ahem…little machine."

Mephistomon walked into the storage room while Datamon walked to his supercomputer and started punching several codes.

"With these recent improvements I've made to my machines, I don't even NEED our Digimon Empress to receive Digimon for me anymore. The only reason I'm even keeping her around anymore is because she seems to be the only one who can control ChaosGallantmon."

"Actually, that's what I need to talk to you about," Puppetmon said rather uneasily. "About ChaosGallantmon…"

"This isn't another complaint, is it?" Datamon groaned. "I've already told you, Puppetmon, you have nothing to worry about. The Digimon Empress is still under our control and since she controls ChaosGallantmon, technically WE control ChaosGallantmon."

"Then why won't he come when I call him?" Puppetmon pointed out.

"We need to call The Digimon Empress first."

"Well, can you hurry up and call her, 'cause we've got a tiny little problem."

Datamon stopped all his typing. "What do you mean 'tiny little problem'?"

"Uh…ChaosGallantmon is loose."

Silence.

"What do you mean ChaosGallantmon is loose?!" Datamon demanded.

"I mean he's loose. As in 'gone', 'missing', 'bye-bye', 'AWOL'. I don't even know which way he went."

"That's out fiercest ally running loose in the Digital World!" Datamon exclaimed. "We MUST get him back immediately!"

"But you said it yourself. We can't control him. He doesn't listen to us!"

Datamon pounded his supercomputer. "I'll put in a call to our Digimon Empress again. There's no way she can possibly keep ignoring us, lest the effect of the Dark Spore is wearing off and the probability of that is extremely unlikely."

Puppetmon looked back again. ChaosGallantmon suddenly breaking out of the Server base was a small setback, for sure.

But on the bright side, maybe the freelancer Mephistomon could do what the Black Gear- influenced Digimon could not. Perhaps he could get that Kari girl.

* * *

The plane was hundreds of feet in the air. Davis peeked out the window and saw clouds passing by below the flying vessel. Whatever the Alphas had in mind, Davis was already sweating bullets over it. Before Davis could close his eyes, he was tossed a backpack.

"This is your parachute," the Alpha with the ponytail said. "Once we're all clear, you three will go ahead and skydive out of the plane. Your backpacks have sensors that will automatically deploy your parachute once you are within safe distance. From there, you'll go ahead and land on the field directly below you. We'll come and get you once you land safely…at least we're ASSUMING you'll land safely."

"Uh…if I may ask…what does this have to do with our pledging?" Kenta asked.

The bulky Alpha with the buzzcut tied a banner to the back of the parachute. "This has everything to do with your pledging. As you parachute down to Earth, you'll have these 'We 

"Are we all clear?" the ponytail asked the pilot.

"We are all clear," the pilot responded.

"Well pledges, you're all set to go," the ponytail grinned. "And remember: Alpha Zeta takes no responsibility for any pledges that become street pizza."

With that, the ponytail gently pushed Kazu out of the plane while the buzzcut nudged Kenta out right behind him. Both pledges, still in costume, tumbled out screaming. That only left Davis.

Davis gulped. "Uh…what if I said I get airsick?"

The Alphas exchanged mischievous glances.

"DON'T SWALLOW!"

With that, the two Alphas moved Davis over and pushed him out of the plane. With a loud scream, Davis started plunging down towards the ground and through the sky. The banner was waving through the sky as Davis was coming down and eventually catching up to Kazu and Kenta.

"Are ALL frats like this?!" Kazu yelled.

"They can't ALL be like this!" Kenta replied.

"I still say it's worth it!" Davis shouted as he continued sailing through the sky.

As they fell closer towards the ground, the parachutes automatically deployed. But Davis's parachute deployed a few seconds later. He was at a bad angle when the parachute opened up and started flying in another direction. Of course, Davis didn't notice anything wrong at first.

"Hey guys! This is kinda fun! I told you this would be worth it! What a rush! I…HEY!! HOW DO I TURN THIS THING?! AAAAAAAAHHHH!!"

Davis didn't know how to change his course. Instead, as he finally approached the ground, he landed right on top of a tall tree. Davis's screams were silenced by leaves that kept slapping him in the face. And he came to a halt…when his parachute got tangled in the tree's branches. Davis was left dangling about eight feet above the ground.

"Uh…Kazu? Kenta? Somebody want to get me down from here?"

Davis struggled, but couldn't get himself out of his latest predicament. After a couple of minutes of shaking and tussling, he gave up and sighed deeply.

"I still say this is worth it."

Just as Davis said that, he started to hear some snapping coming from up above. Moments later, the strings from his parachute snapped and Davis fell face-first to the ground.

It was a fitting way to end this whole ordeal.

  


Next Week: Kari and Rika try and stay on their best behavior, but things don't get easier when they happen to run into some other friends. Tai and Sora take a motorcycle ride to the outskirts of Odaiba where Tai tries to get his head together. Ken, Yolei, Henry, Terriermon, and Wormmon try to keep some peace between Digitamamon and Devitamamon, but are about to encounter some whole new problems. Kazu and Kenta are just about ready to call it quits as it relates to the frat, but Davis isn't giving up so easily. But is there ANOTHER initiation ritual waiting? And the freelance bounty hunter, Mephistomon, is on his way to the real world. Will he get what he's been hired to seek? Find out on the next Digimon: The College Years!

  


Any comments? Then mail me at AmericanCaptor@hotmail.com and don't forget to review below!


	25. Wrong Place, Wrong Person

Last Time: Our characters were all over the place as Davis, Kazu, and Kenta found themselves in the middle of their latest initiation ritual: skydiving with a banner on their backs. It goes as well as could be expected, which is to say that things didn't go well at all. Kari's nervous, but still confident that she'll be a Delta Gamma. Rika's not as sure of herself and has even asked Takato and Guilmon to help her keep her temper in check. Tai found out about what happened between TK and Catherine and walked out, but not without taking Sora and Biyomon with him. Ken and Henry went to deal with Yolei and end the three-way madness, but got an urgent e-mail from the Digital World. It turns out to be from Tapirmon, who's been trying to hold back one Digitamamon from going over the edge. Ken, Henry, Yolei, Terriermon and Wormmon also meet Devitamamon, Digitamamon's new competition, and are about to check out just what makes him Digitamamon's stiffest competition ever. On the villains' side of things, Datamon has hired a freelance bounty hunter known as Mephistomon to go after Kari, but Puppetmon brings some bad news. Apparently…ChaosGallantmon is loose.

  


**Digimon: The College Years**

Episode 25: Wrong Place, Wrong Person

  


Puppetmon waited impatiently with his hammer in his hand for anything to come through that hangar door. Things were growing tense in the server base and it wasn't because of their lack of faith in Mephistomon. Things were getting bad because ChaosGallantmon was proving himself to be a very loose cannon. In fact, he had actually busted out of the Server base and was now on the rampage somewhere in the Digital World.

The Digimon Empress was the only one who seemed to have the power to control him. And these days, she had been ignoring every call they had made to her. But this time, Datamon was being persistent.

And it looked like persistence had paid off because the human had finally arrived. She walked through the hangar door, obviously miffed about this impromptu calling.

"This had better good. What is it?"

"We've got a big problem!" Puppetmon answered. "Your new toy ran away."

"ChaosGallantmon is on the loose!" Datamon added. "Puppetmon attempted to restrain him, but he won't obey us! For some reason, he'll only obey you!"

"This is NOT what I wanted," The Digimon Empress muttered. "I've got my own problems back home. After all, I AM human and I have a little something called SCHOOL!"

"Then you'd better find him quickly, shouldn't you?" Puppetmon sneered.

"It shouldn't be any problem," The Digimon Empress said. She pulled out a handheld organizer. "I found a tracker in Datamon's stash of discarded gadgets and placed it on ChaosGallantmon. He should be easy to find." She looked into the organizer and her eyes widened. "Uh…but don't hold me to that."

"Why not?" Datamon asked.

"Because he's apparently much farther away than I thought."

"How much farther away?" Puppetmon demanded.

The Digimon Empress gulped. "Uh…"

* * *

Ken could hardly hear himself think. To say that Devitamamon's eatery was a total clash to Digitamamon's restaurant would be a total understatement.

When Ken looked around, he saw Digimon of many shapes and sizes and of all ages running around having fun. This was a total party restaurant, much like in the tradition of Chuck E. Cheese's of the United States that Mimi once told him about. There were games all over the place and there was even a stage where a Monzaemon and Numemon were performing as mascots.

"As you can see, I not only offer the best all-around meals in the Digital World, but I also offer a chance for our customers to enjoy themselves," Devitamamon said proudly. "Primary Village can only WISH to have such a place."

"I'm sure they'd love to have you," Digitamamon sneered. "Maybe you should leave right now."

"Not on your life, Digitamamon," Devitamamon scoffed. "You're just jealous because I'm completely wiping the floor with you. In a few short months, I've made more money than you have in years."

"Well, OF COURSE you make money! This whole abomination is nothing more than a zoo! I can make money doing this, too! But I run a civilized eating establishment."

Henry tried to add his two cents. "I think Devitamamon's just offering customers an alternative. To the Digital World, this whole thing is a fresh concept. This is new and different and that kind of thing can make anybody curious. Right, Terriermon? Uh…Terriermon?"

Terriermon was busy getting into the spirit of things. He was hard at work pounding away at a Whack-A-Molemon game. He wasn't faring very well, as he had only gotten three successful whacks before the game ended.

"Dang!"

Wormmon chuckled. "I guess they're too fast for you."

Terriermon responded by whacking Wormmon over the head and turned to Henry. "Did you say something, Henry?"

Henry groaned. "Never mind. I think you just proved my point."

"I think the point Henry's trying to make is that this might not necessarily last forever," Yolei tried saying. "This looks like nothing more than a fad."

"A FAD?!" Devitamamon snapped.

"I didn't hear her stutter," Digitamamon said. "I'm suddenly feeling much better about my own restaurant. I guess it's true that every business goes through its occasional freefall. But I know my restaurant has a timeless quality to it."

"My restaurant has a timeless quality, too!" Devitamamon shot back. "Just ask your sidekick!"

Sure enough, even Tapirmon couldn't help but have a little fun here. He was playing at the air hockey table against a Frigimon…and losing. In fact, Frigimon had just scored the game-winner.

"That's game!" Frigimon said proudly.

"Oh darn," Tapirmon muttered. "I never was good at this game."

"And just what do you think you're doing?" Digitamamon asked dryly.

Tapirmon chuckled nervously. "Uh…next game, Digitamamon?"

Ken called a huddle among the humans. "I think this is going pretty well."

"Why are we here again?" Henry wondered.

"We came to keep Digitamamon from losing his mind," Yolei answered. "But from what he just said about that whole 'timeless quality' thing, I think he should be just fine. I think our work's just about done."

"Speaking of work, I've got a report I really should finish up back home," Henry noted.

"We might as well grab dinner before we head back," Ken pointed out.

"Good idea, but I think we should go back and eat with Digitamamon," Yolei suggested. "It may help boost his self-confidence that much more."

Ken nodded. "Let's do it."

The huddle broke and Ken was about to offer to buy dinner for five from Digitamamon, but he never got that chance. Everyone suddenly heard an explosion come from outside. Suddenly, the playful atmosphere came to a stop. A second later, the entire restaurant was rocked by another explosion. Everything began to rumble and loose items began to fall onto the floor.

"What was that?!" Devitamamon demanded.

Ken, Yolei, and Henry rushed outside to see what was causing all that commotion. They didn't see clearly what it was since it was out in the distance. They could only make out a shadow. Henry decided to reach out and see if his Digivice would reach that far. It did and they soon identified the perpetrator.

"ChaosGallantmon, Mega level! Dark Warrior Virus type! No other information available!"

Terriermon caught up to them and saw the rogue's entry on Henry's Digivice. "He looks just like Gallantmon! Where did he come from?"

From the distance, ChaosGallantmon fired a powerful shot in their direction, striking the restaurant again. By now, the Digimon inside were starting to flee.

"I don't know where he came from, but he's destroying my business!" Devitamamon shouted. "Somebody stop him!"

Wormmon timidly came out and stepped forward. "I can stop him, right Ken?"

Ken held out his Digivice. "Let's do it!"

****Wormmon…Digivolve to…Stingmon!****

As Wormmon Digivolved into the much more powerful Stingmon, everyone saw ChaosGallantmon charging out of the shadows and towards the restaurant.

The battle was about to begin.

* * *

Tai tossed another rock into the lake. When he rode out of the university, he didn't know where he would go. He wasn't exactly thinking completely when he headed out since he was so upset over finding out about TK and Catherine. He finally settled on riding out to the lake.

He wouldn't stay out there too long, since he had class at night and, upset or not, he still needed to go. But he also had to head back since he wasn't by himself. He had Sora and Biyomon with him and they were obviously worried about Tai and the state he was in. Even more so after he told them what happened.

"Tai…honestly, are you alright?" Sora asked.

"Do you think I'm alright?" Tai growled as he chucked another rock in the lake. "I can't believe this happened to me, Sora! I honestly thought I had a chance with her! I really thought I'd be with Catherine! But what happens? She's got it bad for TK! I can't believe it! It's like I'm always losing out to SOMEONE from that bloodline!"

Sora stayed silent and Tai knew exactly why. He used to have feelings for Sora before she eventually declared her feelings for Matt, TK's brother. With the way Tai's luck was going, he'd fall in love with another girl and find out Matt and TK had ANOTHER family member waiting to beat him out.

"Why are you letting this get to you, Tai?" Sora asked. "You never used to put yourself through so much grief over a girl."

"Except for you, Sora," Biyomon pointed out.

"Biyomon, you're not helping," Sora whispered to her partner.

"Oh, sorry."

Tai tossed another rock into the lake. "Sora…you don't understand. You wouldn't understand."

"We've been friends for so many years, Tai. Why don't you just try me?"

Tai dropped the next rock he held in his hand. Although they were never officially a couple, Tai still confided in Sora more than anybody. He decided to come clean.

"Sora…I want to find someone I can settle down with."

Sora blinked. "Settle down? As in…more than a girlfriend?"

Tai nodded. "Someone I can marry."

Sora shook her head. "Is THAT what's bothering you? Tai, it's no big deal. You'll find someone eventually. I know you will."

"My time's running out," Tai sighed. "I'm growing older everyday…and I don't have much time left."

Sora groaned. "Somehow, I KNEW it was somehow leading to this. Tai, are you STILL feeling old?!"

"Why shouldn't I?"

"Ok, I've had enough! Tai Kamiya, I demand to know where you got this idea that you're too old! You tell me RIGHT NOW!"

Tai didn't even know where to start explaining. It felt like his epiphany came just yesterday. But it had been a while since he started to realize just how old he was getting. Of course, he never told anybody just why he was feeling like he was getting on in years.

"Sora…do you remember when we first went into the Digital World?"

"How can I forget? You think any of us could possibly forget that summer?"

"But how long ago was it?"

"We were pulled in when we were 11 years old."

"See? That just it! Do you know how long it's been? And do you realize just how many adventures we've had since then? Devimon? Etemon? Myotismon? The Dark Masters? Apocalymon? The Digimon Emperor? MaloMyotismon? And everything we've faced in the years since then? I've lived through so much! I've had the kind of life that so many people would kill for! It's been so exciting! But I can't go on like this forever. I can't take much more. I want…something different."

Sora paused before continuing. "I guess it has been a really long time. But Tai…do you really think that a girl will make that much of a difference in your life?"

"I'm sure Catherine would have made SOME difference in the way I live. She made me feel young."

"That's another thing we need to talk about," Sora frowned. "Tai, I guess I can understand why you've been feeling old. But you've gone overboard in trying to look young. You've got to remember that you're 21 years old. There's no need for you to check for wrinkles, use Just For Men, and there's especially no need for that…THING!"

"You mean my hog?"

Biyomon looked around curiously. "Where's a pig?"

"Yes, Tai, I mean your motorcycle," Sora clarified. "That thing's going to get you killed and for what? What does that thing give you back in return? A cheap thrill? A quick rush? It won't last. And it's not you. It's not who you are."

Tai knew what Sora was saying had some meaning. But then he looked at his beloved motorcycle and couldn't picture himself being without it. He loved riding it. He loved the thrill of feeling the winds and knowing that anything and everything that rode behind him was eating his dust. Yet he realized that his friend made a lot of sense.

"I'll think about it."

Sora nodded. "I guess that's the best I could hope for right now."

Tai walked over to his friend. "Matt's lucky to have a girl like you. I've always told him that. Thanks for being there for me today, Sora."

"Anytime, Tai. You're my friend."

Tai took this time to notice the hat on Sora's head. "You know, this whole thing was starting to remind me of those talks we had when we were kids. But you know what else reminds me of our childhood? That hat. You used to wear those all the time when we were kids."

Sora adjusted her hat nervously. "Well…I'm wearing this hat because my hair's not exactly growing back quickly. Frankly, I was afraid it would blow off on the way here."

"I wouldn't be surprised. I ride pretty fast. Let's see if it lasts the trip back. Let's go."

Biyomon gulped. "I survived the trip here. I guess I shouldn't worry about the trip back."

Tai walked over to his motorcycle and handed Sora his spare helmet. They both jumped on the bike and got ready to ride back to Odaiba U, with Tai feeling much better about himself.

* * *

Kari didn't want to be by herself at the university with the possibility of the alumni watching over her. Without Davis here to keep her calm, Kari wanted to head out. Since she was already out of her room, she thought it'd be best if she went off campus for a little while.

Taking her backpack, Kari started walking on a straight path out of the university, walking through the crowd of students that were just getting out of class. Not every student of the school had manners, so Kari found herself being nudged and occasionally shoved. Then she bumped into someone herself.

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"Kari?"

Kari looked right in front of her to see she had bumped into her ex-boyfriend, TK. "Oh…hi."

"It's been a while. How have you been?"

"Uh…just fine."

TK smiled. "I heard you're going out for Delta Gamma."

"Yeah…it's not for sure yet. I'm not exactly in yet. I won't find out for another week."

"I'm sure you're a shoo-in. I don't see any reason why they wouldn't want you."

"You really believe that?"

TK nodded. "Believe me, I know better than anybody what a wonderful person you really are."

Kari was feeling flattered. And this was coming from that same ex-boyfriend who refused to trust her almost six months ago. Suddenly, she started to recall memories of that day when she had dumped him for his lack of faith in her. She hadn't even talked to him at all until that distress call in Reedington. Since then, he had been that same sweetheart she had been with for so many years.

Then she shrugged those feelings off. That was all in the past. She had a future with someone else.

"I'd…better get going. It was nice seeing you again."

Kari started walking away, but stopped when she heard TK's voice.

"Kari…how's everything going with Davis?"

Kari smiled. "Better than I could ever ask for."

TK nodded. "…………I'm…happy for you."

Kari couldn't help but be thankful for that as she kept walking. From what she had seen this school year, it was obvious that TK was so much better at moving on than she was. Only now was she barely catching up.

She wished she could be more like TK.

* * *

"Riley, stop pulling me!"

Talley felt like a yo-yo. Following the Kamiya girl wasn't an easy task, since she and Riley had to remain inconspicuous. She thought the job would be easier after Yamaki got them all the fake documents they needed to verify they were Delta Gamma alumni. Of course, they were looked upon with a lot of suspicion by some of the current sisters.

"We can't make it OBVIOUS that we're following her," Riley muttered. "We have to be careful and you're walking too fast. You're giving us away."

"Well, excuse me! I may be a government agent, but I'm not exactly used to being in a position where I have to follow someone."

"Then just follow me and keep a lookout for anything suspicious. The minute we see anything like a wild Digimon come into the picture, we contact Yamaki and then we look around for any signs of our mole."

"Alright, fine! I'll just follow you. But aren't we supposed to keep our eye on the other one?"

"The sorority wants us to keep an eye on the Tamer, too. But we've got more important issues."

"Kinda sad. She won't get a fair chance to be a Delta Gamma."

"Talley!"

"It's true. Don't you remember OUR days as sorority girls?"

Talley had obviously struck something in her partner. And she didn't want her to forget. Some of Talley's fondest memories came from her days in her own sorority back when she attended college with Riley overseas in the United States.

"I wish we could be sorority girls again," Riley smiled. Then she shrugged that off. "Talley, stop distracting me! We're on a mission, remember?"

Talley nodded. She was there for a reason. Their purpose was to keep an eye on Kari Kamiya and watch out for any signs of the mole emerging. And of course, they were also supposed to keep Kari safe. Not only because the evil ones wanted for her a reason, but also…

…Talley was keeping her safe at Izzy's request.

* * *

Ken ran forward as Stingmon met up with ChaosGallantmon head on. Stingmon went to deliver the first blow, but ChaosGallantmon grabbed the champion bug by the wrist and tossed him aside like a bag of garbage. It wasn't often that Stingmon could get overpowered so easily.

Stingmon shook off that unexpected blow and got back into his fighting stance. He tried to rush in again and attack.

"Spiking Strike!"

ChaosGallantmon simply kept Stingmon at bay with mighty strength. He hoisted him up over his head and tossed him towards Devitamamon's restaurant. While Stingmon got to his feet, ChaosGallantmon was about to attack.

"Stingmon, look out!" Ken shouted.

ChaosGallantmon rushed forward. "Dark Saber!"

ChaosGallantmon aimed his large lance and fired a dark shot that would have neutralized any Digimon. But Stingmon got Ken's warning and flew out of harm's way. Unfortunately, ChaosGallantmon's shot hit Devitamamon's restaurant dead-on. The eating establishment went up in a great explosion and erupted into flames.

Yolei's eyes widened. "That guy packs a punch!"

"MY RESTAURANT!" Devitamamon cried. "That brute destroyed my meal ticket!"

Henry picked up Terriermon and started running off. "Keep him busy! We'll be right back!"

Ken wasn't focused on Henry. He was concerned with Stingmon, who wasn't faring very well. Stingmon tried to take on the rogue knight head-on again and once again got tossed aside like a sack of potatoes. ChaosGallantmon added more damage by swinging his lance and knocking Stingmon across the jaw, sending him tumbling.

At this rate, the fight wouldn't last long.

* * *

Amidst the rubble and remains of Devitamamon's restaurant, Henry managed to find a clear place to take cover. With the coast clear, he knew what had to be done.

"Time to Digivolve?" Terriermon suggested.

Henry shook his head. "Did you see that shot? He nearly cleared the entire restaurant with that one shot. We'll need to go a step further if we want to stop that guy!"

Terriermon smirked. "You mean…?"

Henry took out his Digivice. "That's right! Let's do it!"

**Biomerge Digivolution**

"Biomerge activate!"

****Terriermon…Biomerge to…MegaGargomon!****

Having Biomerged into MegaGargomon, a whole new battle was about to begin. Henry hadn't had this feeling in years and it was a thrill to feel it once again.

Once again, he was MegaGargomon.

* * *

Ken didn't know if Stingmon could possibly win this fight. This ChaosGallantmon seemingly wasn't even breaking a sweat. It was now to the point where ChaosGallantmon was throwing Stingmon around like a ragdoll. The dark knight was about to attack with his lance again, but was caught from behind.

A large Digimon, bigger than ChaosGallantmon, picked up the knight and tossed him away from Stingmon. This Digimon was a large, green metallic Digimon whose face looked rather familiar to Ken.

"Terriermon?"

"Close," two voices said in unison. The voices came from the Digimon. They sounded like Terriermon and Henry. "Just call me MegaGargomon!"

ChaosGallantmon quickly got to his feet. He didn't look pleased with the interference of MegaGargomon. He took out his lance and shield and looked to attack again, but MegaGargomon and Stingmon weren't about to back down.

"I don't know where you came from," MegaGargomon began. "But your rampage has to stop! You may look like Gallantmon, but you aren't anywhere near as heroic or honorable! And now I'll make you pay for your random destruction! Gargo Missiles!"

MegaGargomon shot two large missiles that resided on his shoulders. The missiles were on a straight path for ChaosGallantmon. He didn't even try to move out of the way. Ken looked on as a giant explosion erupted. It should have been enough to vaporize the rogue.

"No getting up from that!" Yolei piped up.

It took a few minutes, but the smoke eventually did clear. And to everyone's shock, ChaosGallantmon was still standing. It didn't take long to see why. He had kneeled down and defended himself with his shield, which was held in front of him.

"No way!" MegaGargomon shouted.

ChaosGallantmon got to his feet and held up his shield. The shield reflected a dark light and looked like it was about to burst in a ray of dark energy. Ken knew what was coming. Without giving it a second thought, he ran forward.

"Stingmon, watch out!"

Yolei gasped. "Ken, don't!"

ChaosGallantmon held his shield up. "Final Elysian!"

The shield did indeed burst and, in the blink of an eye, a ray of dark energy emerged from the shield. It enclosed MegaGargomon and Stingmon and created another explosion. But this time, Ken was also caught at the edge of the explosion. He wasn't caught at the center, but he was hit pretty hard.

And it was enough to knock him unconscious.

* * *

Takato couldn't believe he was still doing this. It was pretty obvious that Rika didn't want to risk getting caught by those Delta Gamma alumni on campus. They both knew they were around somewhere, but neither of them had any idea where. Finally, Rika had just decided that the best place to go would be off campus. Of course, she didn't want to go anywhere without Takato and Guilmon, so she definitely had them in tow.

"Just keep walking, Goggle Head," Rika muttered. "We're almost out."

Rika was obviously in a hurry, because she didn't even look back. Takato was starting to feel like he and Guilmon were being neglected. But for Rika's sake, and his own personal safety, he just kept walking along. But something ahead made Rika come to a stop. She stopped for a number of girls in pink sweaters. Takato recognized the logo on their sweaters. They were Delta Gamma sisters.

Takato and Guilmon stopped while Rika conversed with them, but someone tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around to see another friend had unexpectedly showed up.

"Glad I could catch you here, Takato."

"Hey, Izzy. What's up?"

"Remember back when we first met and I said I'd like to do some research on your Digimon? I'd like to take a look at Guilmon if you have time."

Takato didn't want to leave Rika behind, but it looked like Izzy was dead set on getting his research done as soon as possible. In fact, Takato already felt himself being pulled away by the arm by an overzealous Izzy.

"I think that's a yes," Guilmon noted.

Takato just shrugged. After all, Rika was almost off campus. What was the worst that could happen if he left?

* * *

Rika had hit a roadblock on her way off campus. She wanted to get away as soon as possible. But she didn't expect to run into some of the sisters from Delta Gamma. And with Rika being one of the two final candidates for initiation, they couldn't help but stop and greet her. Rika was more than happy to say hello. She knew she was in no danger of messing up, especially with Takato helping her out.

"So have you run into any of the alumni, Rika?" one of the sisters asked.

"They're supposed to be hidden, remember?" Rika pointed out cheerfully.

"Glad you remember that. You know, if you've been this perky all week, then I don't see why you shouldn't make it."

"I don't know," the American sister said. "We just saw Kari a little while ago and she's just as good. If anything, this'll be a tough call."

Leezel, whom Rika recognized, concurred. "That's why we have the alumni around. They'll make that call for us. Uh…hey, Rika? Who's your cute friend?"

They must have been referring to Takato, whom Rika nearly forgot about. She owed him a big thanks for his help once this was all over. She was about to introduce him, but when she turned around, she nearly turned white…and beet red.

Takato wasn't there. Neither was Guilmon. Instead, they had been replaced…

"Yeah, Rika. Introduce me to your friends."

…by Ryo Akiyama.

Rika stammered. "Y-Y-You…"

The American girl stepped between them and offered a handshake. "You certainly are very cute. My name's Danielle. And you are…?"

Ryo stepped over and put his arm around Rika's shoulder. "I'll let Rika, here, introduce me."

Rika couldn't believe this. Takato had abandoned her. And out of nowhere, Ryo had arrived uninvited. She felt like bursting in a fireball of anger, yet she knew she couldn't do so without looking bad in front of the sisters.

"This is my good buddy, Ryo," Rika said, trying to break out a smile.

"Hey, a smile," Ryo grinned. "There's something I don't see very often. In fact, I almost never…"

"Hey, Ryo, aren't you late for some appointment?" Rika hastily interrupted.

"Nope. Can't think of anything I'm late for."

Rika honestly felt like throttling him. She knew Ryo wasn't dense and she knew he could take a hint. He was doing this to her on purpose.

"So how long have you two been friends?" Leezel asked.

"For years and years," Ryo answered.

"And you two never went out?" Danielle asked curiously.

"Nope. I guess she was too good for me."

Rika's eyes widened as she shot Ryo a cold stare. What she got in turn was a wry smirk.

"Or was it the other way around?"

This was the Ryo Akiyama that Rika had grown to dislike so much. The brashness, the cockiness, the sheer audacity. And when she coldly stared at his face, she saw the nonchalance in his eyes.

Rika tried everything to keep her cool. She counted to ten in her mind. She sang a happy tune in her mind. She thought pleasant thoughts…like throttling Takato once she got her hands on him for abandoning her. But none of it was working. Ryo was deliberately trying to bring out the worst in her and she wanted to kill him for it. He was going to blow her chance to get in this sorority.

Miraculously, Rika stayed calm. "We were victims of circumstance."

Ryo nodded. "Is that what we're calling it now?"

Rika was starting to crack. "Are you trying to blame ME…?"

She almost burst, but as soon as she saw the Delta Gamma sisters surrounding her, she controlled herself. One angry outburst would cost her dearly.

Ryo smirked. "You know, ladies, I didn't find out Rika was going out for Delta Gamma until a little while ago. I'm kinda curious, Rika. What made you want to be a sister?"

Rika's eyes widened. She looked like a deer caught in the headlights. She couldn't believe Ryo had the gall to ask that question IN FRONT OF THE SISTERS. She wanted to murder him.

"That's a pretty good question," Danielle smiled. "I'd like to know too."

"Yeah, me too," two other sisters added at once.

"Ladies, we don't have time," Leezel cut in. "We have to be going. Besides, we'll have plenty of time to get that answer in due time. Good luck, Rika. And don't forget…the alumni are watching."

Rika nodded. "I'll remember that, Leezel. I'll see you guys later."

The Delta Gamma sisters walked off leaving Rika alone with the one person she wanted to strangle more than anybody…except maybe Takato. Her first instinct told her to wring Ryo's neck, but she remembered that while on campus, she had to be on her best behavior. So she leaned in and whispered into his ear.

"When this is all over, I AM going to kill you, Ryo Akiyama."

Ryo, not surprisingly, stayed cool. "So…you never DID answer my question."

Rika shook her head. "Personal reasons. Right now, I'll just leave it at that. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to be anywhere but here."

At this point, Rika wanted to rush off campus. But it was still quite a distance to get out of the university. And besides that, she wanted to vent to someone. That's when she got an idea.

She turned around and made a beeline for the freshman dorms.

* * *

Once the smoke all cleared, there was hardly anything left. Yolei looked in front of her and saw all the destruction that had been caused. The impact of the blast had left Stingmon back into his devolved state. Henry and Terriermon had separated from the blast. And ChaosGallantmon looked to deliver the killing blow. Yolei couldn't bear to watch. She wished she had Hawkmon here.

ChaosGallantmon held up his lance, but before he struck…

"ChaosGallantmon, STOP!"

ChaosGallantmon stopped just short of attacking. A feminine voice had called out to him.

"Return to me, NOW!"

ChaosGallantmon had dropped everything he was doing and obeyed the call. He left Ken, Henry, Wormmon, and Terriermon for dead and started walking away from the battle. Then Yolei realized who was still unconscious on the ground.

Without wasting another moment, she rushed over to Ken's side. After getting caught in the explosion, Ken was brutally beaten and bruised. Yolei never wanted to see him like this.

"Ken Ichijouji, you wake up RIGHT NOW!"

Ken was barely moving. Yolei frantically shook him. Finally, he started to move.

"What hit me?" Ken asked groggily.

Yolei wrapped her arms around Ken. "Ken, I almost thought I lost you!"

Ken looked around. "We lost ChaosGallantmon. Where's Wormmon?"

"I'm over here, Ken," Wormmon said dizzily. He had been knocked loopy.

"Anybody get the license number of that truck?" Terriermon moaned.

"I've never been hit that hard before," Henry groaned. "Where did he come from?"

"I've got a better question," Yolei pointed out. "Why did he stop? He could have finished us all. What stopped him?"

Ken looked around. "Where's Digitamamon?"

Yolei also looked around and suddenly realized that her friend was gone. He was nowhere to be seen. She carefully stood Ken up and they both walked over to find him, right after Ken picked the battered Wormmon onto his shoulder. Henry and Terriermon gingerly got to their feet and started following Yolei and Ken.

There was only one place where Digitamamon could possibly be and that was his restaurant. So that's where they all headed. But to everyone's shock, when they got there, they only saw a pile of rubble. The restaurant had been obliterated. And there stood Digitamamon.

"That monster destroyed my restaurant! MY WAY OF LIFE! He'll pay for that!"

"Get in line, Digitamamon," Devitamamon grumbled. "My way of life's gone too. I can't believe that after all this time, I have to start over."

"But you haven't been in the game as long as I have," Digitamamon pointed out. "I can't believe it's going to end like this."

"It doesn't have to end," Tapirmon suggested. "We can rebuild."

"That'll take a long time," Digitamamon sighed. "Maybe months."

"Maybe years," Devitamamon added.

Yolei wished there was something she could do. This whole day seemingly ended with Digitamamon and Devitamamon ready to resume their rivalry. Now they were both out of work.

But Yolei suddenly got an idea.

"You know, I may have a way to fix everything. You two don't have to be out for long."

"What do you mean?" Digitamamon asked.

"Look, you two may have different methods, but it's pretty obvious that you have the same philosophy. You want to give customers the best food and service in the Digital World. Why don't you two work together?"

"Me and him?" Devitamamon thought.

"You know…I may be bullheaded and stubborn, but that doesn't sound like such a bad idea," Digitamamon said. "We could really clean up with my sense of business and your knowledge of what the world wants. What do you say? Put our differences aside for the common goal?"

"Uh…you mean our common goal being lots and lots of money?"

"Exactly."

Devitamamon jumped up and down. "I like that idea! You've got yourself a deal, Digitamamon!"

"A new era begins today!" Digitamamon said cheerfully.

"If I had a glass, I'd toast to that," Devitamamon said.

"We don't really have much of ANYTHING at this point," Terriermon pointed out.

Digitamamon and Devitamamon stood side-by-side. "To a new future!"

Ken smiled. "That's great to see. They've put aside their differences for one common goal."

Wormmon nodded. "Yeah...to get filthy rich."

"I think we can finally go home," Yolei added.

Yolei was all set to leave, but she noticed Henry was tapping Ken on the shoulder. Ken looked at him and nodded.

"Yolei…before all this started…I wanted to talk to you about something…"

* * *

Davis knocked again. "Come on, guys! We're gonna be late!"

Davis, again clad in his gorilla suit, was in a rush. Alpha Zeta had called once again and he didn't want to be late for their next initiation ritual. He couldn't be delayed anymore.

"Hurry up!"

Finally, the door opened. A serious Kazu stuck his head out of the door. Neither he nor Kenta were dressed in their costumes.

"What's taking you guys so long? Why aren't you ready?"

"Davis, we're done," Kazu said matter-of-factly. "We give. We can't take anymore."

"What?! Why?!"

Kenta stuck his head out of the door. "You obviously haven't noticed the kind of initiation we've been doing. Davis, we just got back from SKYDIVING!! That's too much! We can't take it anymore! Especially so soon!"

Davis shook his head. "I can't believe you guys are giving up so easily. I told you guys! This'll be worth it when it's all over."

"You can let us know how it goes," Kazu growled.

He slammed the door in Davis's face. Davis couldn't believe his two friends were abandoning him. He just angrily put his gorilla head on.

"Alright, you'll see what you're missing! I know this is worth it!"

With that, Davis headed off for his next ritual.

* * *

Kari was glad to be off campus right now. She felt relieved knowing that she didn't have to worry about the alumni watching over her. As she took a sip of her coffee from the coffee shop as she sat at the table outside, she thought about how much more pressure she would have to face in the next week. She wished she would have brought Gatomon along with her. But there was no way they could talk to each other in public. Besides, Gatomon still felt embarrassed with the way Renamon had shaved her and wasn't ready to leave the dorm.

As she took another sip of her coffee, she couldn't help but think about TK. She was starting to wonder why she had even broke up with him to begin with. But she quickly shrugged that thought off. This breakup was meant to be. She believed that. At least…she wanted to. After all, Davis was a great guy. He had always proven himself to her and he would always be there for her. She couldn't find a thing wrong with him.

She didn't know how she got into thinking about the guys in her life. TK and Davis were both wonderful, but she had already made her decision. There was nothing more to think about.

So why couldn't she get them off her mind?

Kari finally tried to think about something else. She started to wonder just how long she would stay out here? She had plenty of time to kill since her classes were over for the day. She didn't need to head back to the pressures of the university right away. And she knew that the sooner she got back, the sooner the alumni could watch over her. She didn't need that pressure. She would stay another while longer.

"Can I have another coffee?"

* * *

Talley took a sip from her coffee. She and Riley were sitting across the street from where the Kamiya girl was sitting. The coffee tasted bland and she didn't want to take another sip, but she had to act totally natural as she didn't want to blow her cover.

"Just another surveillance assignment. Are you surprised?" Riley sighed.

"Yamaki always finds the most exciting jobs for us," Talley noted sarcastically.

Kari Kamiya was going about her life as usual. There didn't look to be anything unusual happening. Talley started to drift off into random thoughts.

"I wonder how she would look in Delta Gamma colors?" Talley mused. "What do you think, Riley? Wouldn't she look good as a Gamma?"

"I wouldn't know."

"But then again, it wouldn't be fair to count out the Tamer. I mean, we've seen the type of person she is. She's always proven herself to be courageous and selfless. I still think it's too bad she's not getting a fair chance. You'd think Yamaki would find a more honest way for us to spy on someone."

Riley started to stand up and remove her sunglasses while Talley kept rambling.

"But then again, isn't 'honest' and 'spying' an oxymoron? I mean, how can we be totally honest if we're spying on someone? I wish we could just go one way or the other. Then again, I don't think Yamaki will understand that. I guess I should be used to the way that man operates by now. What do you think, Riley?"

Riley pointed towards a skyscraper. "THERE!"

"There what?"

Talley didn't notice what her partner was seeing. It wasn't until Riley pulled her up by her ear and pointed her in the right direction that Talley started to see what was going on.

Talley pulled out her binoculars. "Oh…no…"

She finally saw it, perched up on the skyscraper, ready to come down.

It was a Digimon.

  


Next Week: Mephistomon has arrived and he's ready to make his presence felt. Will Kari even see him coming? And is anybody else around to save the day? Meanwhile, Izzy's looking over Guilmon and a couple of others. What does he find? And what's Davis's next step in his initiation? How much worse can it get? Find out on the next Digimon: The College Years!

  


Any comments? Then mail me at AmericanCaptor@hotmail.com and don't forget to review below!


	26. Sisterly Love

Last Week: Things got bad in the Digital World, as ChaosGallantmon had ran off farther than anyone thought. He had ventured off towards the dueling restaurants belonging to Digitamamon and Devitamamon. Stingmon tried to fight him along with Henry and Terriermon who had Biomerged into MegaGargomon, but ChaosGallantmon proved to be too powerful. Even Ken got caught in the crossfire. Tai and Sora had a long talk about the meaning off all the time that has passed while cheering Tai up. Meanwhile, Kari and Rika both continued on, looking over their shoulders for any signs of the Delta Gamma alumni. Kari ran into TK and thought about days past, while Takato and Guilmon were dragged off by Izzy leaving Rika alone…with Ryo. Kari was finally able to get off campus, with the undercover Hypnos agents keeping close surveillance. But the agents spotted something on the horizon. It's Mephistomon!

  


**Digimon: The College Years**

Episode 26- Sisterly Love

  


Kari knew she'd develop a coffee addiction if she continued at this rate. But she had a lot to think about and since she was at a coffee shop, she figured she might as well take advantage of her resources. She was on her third latte at this point, but just as she was to take a drink, she saw everyone stand up and point to the sky. The points were followed by screaming and fleeing. Kari couldn't believe her rotten luck.

"I…really should start bringing Gatomon with me."

Kari turned around and, just as she suspected, spotted a Digimon walking her way. He was a very big Digimon, his body covered in dark blue and purple colors. He had thick legs and forearms along with a set of ram's horns on his head and black wings on his back.

"Child of Light! I have come for YOU! Show yourself, otherwise I shall plunge your city into darkness and chaos through massive destruction!"

Kari knew it would be madness to come out, so she ducked under her table. Without Gatomon here, she was totally defenseless. But this guy looked like he wouldn't hesitate to start trashing Odaiba. She couldn't let him do that.

The Digimon looked over at a crowd of people running from the town square. He held up his arm and aimed for them.

"Foolish humans! Your lives can be spared once I have the DigiDestined of Light, but until then you shall all perish!"

"STOP!" Kari shouted.

It was Kari's biggest soft spot. She couldn't stand to see innocent people get hurt. Ever since she was a little girl, she would always willingly sacrifice herself if it meant saving innocent people.

With that thought in mind, Kari stepped out from underneath the table. "Who are you? And what do you want with me?"

"I am Mephistomon! And I have been sent to retrieve you to those who hired me! Now make this easy on your world and come along."

Kari wasn't the type to just comply and go along with whatever any evil Digimon told her. But with innocent lives at stake, she had no choice. Kari walked forward, but Mephistomon started to cringe.

"AAARRGH!! THE LIGHT!! I can't stand the light!! I must be surrounded by DARKNESS!!"

Mephistomon raised his arm and the Odaiba sky turned black as the darkest night. Kari, who had been bothered by darkness practically her whole life, was starting to get scared. She didn't know what was about to happen now.

"Come with me, but keep your distance," Mephistomon ordered. "My employers shall soon bring us into their headquarters."

Kari hung her head down. Without Gatomon here to protect her and with innocent lives being threatened, she had no choice but to comply.

She suddenly started to feel the darkness reaching out for her again.

* * *

Talley wished she could do something to help the Kamiya girl, but she had another job to do. She looked around with her binoculars searching for any sign of the mysterious mole. There was nobody around. And while she did that, Riley reached for her cell phone and called Yamaki.

"Sir, we've got a wild one! And he's got the Kamiya girl cornered. **…** No sir, there's no sign of the mole anywhere. Whoever it is must have sent out this lackey from another location. **…** I understand that, sir. But what can Talley and I do? We're not exactly equipped for this task. **…** Understood."

Riley hung up the phone and that made Talley anxious.

"Well? What do we have?"

"We've got nothing. There's nothing we can do. We aren't trained for this sort of thing."

Talley clenched her fist. "We can't just leave her there!"

Riley shook her head. "I know. I just hope someone who CAN do something comes soon."

* * *

As Tai rode down the empty street, he noticed the sky suddenly turn dark. He slowed his motorcycle down and stopped by a sidewalk. He checked his watch and saw that it wasn't nighttime just yet. This was an odd phenomenon.

"Who turned out the lights?" Tai asked curiously.

Sora, who was riding in the back, gasped. "Tai!"

Tai suddenly noticed he had stopped by an electronics store. Sora was pointing at a series of television screens which were all turned to a breaking news broadcast from the news studio.

"Another in a string of monster attacks is happening at this very moment near the Odaiba town square. People have fled the scene and we will bring you full details as they come in."

"A Digimon," Tai muttered. "I guess that's our cue."

"Us?" Sora asked.

Tai smirked. "Ready for one more adventure?"

Sora nodded. And with his friend's approval, Tai revved his motorcycle and rode out towards the Odaiba town square. The old DigiDestined were about to ride again.

* * *

Finally, Rika had made it off campus. After the near-disaster with the Gammas, she was just glad to get away from Odaiba University for a while. And she was happy to be walking down a lone downtown Odaiba street with the one she could REALLY trust.

"I can't believe Ryo had the gall to try and make me look bad in front of the sisters. Who does he think he is? I want this more than anything and Ryo came THAT CLOSE to messing everything up for me! What possessed him to do that?! And I can't BELIEVE he tried to paint ME as the bad guy because we never ended up together. HE'S the one who moved away to Hong Kong before our senior year of high school! I never got to take him to homecoming or prom. I never got to graduate at his side. He's the jerk, not me! And that…that…EGO! He just thinks he's SO perfect. I wish you could have seen how he carried himself off with the sisters. He tried to look like God's gift to women.

"And Takato? Wait until I get my hands on that Goggle Head! How could he just abandon me like that?! He promised to watch me and make sure I didn't lose my temper! And he just ran off without even a warning! When I see him and Guilmon…ARGH! For their own safety, they'd better stay away from me, because so help me, if I see them, they're going to SUFFER!

"I'm glad you came out with me. I could always trust you. You would never abandon me. And you would definitely never make me look bad. You've always been my friend and I appreciate you always being around."

Rika was glad to have her friend around. The one friend she could always trust through thick and thin was Renamon. And indeed, Renamon was right there walking with Rika. Of course, Renamon had gone invisible so as to go unnoticed by the general public.

"I shall always be there for you, Rika," Renamon said. "But wouldn't people find it odd that you are seemingly talking to yourself?"

Rika thought about it. Since Renamon was invisible, it would look like Rika was talking to herself and that would look rather strange to the average passerby. But she shrugged that off and kept walking.

"It's not like I've ever cared what people thought of me before. Why would I care now?"

"If that is the case, then why are you so concerned about what those sorority girls think of you?" Renamon pointed out.

Rika stopped walking. "T-That's different. I told you that my reasons for being in that sorority are totally personal."

"You've never hesitated to share anything with me before. Why can you not tell me your reasoning for joining this sorority?"

Rika thought about that. Renamon made a good point. Rika had never hesitated to share anything with her friend. And she wasn't about to start now.

"Well, ok. I guess I can tell you. I………hey! Renamon, look up there!"

Without warning, the sky suddenly turned dark. Rika checked her watch and noticed that nighttime hadn't arrived yet. She hadn't even noticed the sun set. Something was wrong.

"I sense a Digimon nearby," Renamon noted. "A familiar presence."

That got Rika's attention. "Where?"

Renamon made herself visible and pointed east. "That way!"

Rika took out her Digivice and got ready for battle. "Then let's go!"

Rika let Renamon take the lead. And they both ran over towards wherever this Digimon was. After the way her day was going, a battle would be sure to make Rika's day better.

* * *

Kari walked with Mephistomon to wherever he was leading her. She didn't even know where she was being taken. They were about to reach an alley before Mephistomon pulled out a tiny communicator.

"I have her. You may open a port now."

_"I haven't exactly perfected the process of bringing a Digimon back HERE from the real world,"_ a voice from the other end said. _"But she is a DigiDestined. Have her open a port here herself."_

Mephistomon cut off the communications link and dropped the communicator to the ground before stomping on it.

"If you want your world to be spared, you will open a Digiport!" Mephistomon boomed.

Before Kari stepped forward, she saw a pair of headlights from the distance. Something was approaching and the sound of it was getting louder. It sounded like a motorcycle. And sure enough, a motorcycle soon came into view and Kari knew who was on it.

"Tai!" Kari looked up at the big Mephistomon. "Deal's off! I'm not alone anymore!"

"Meddlers shall be destroyed!" Mephistomon shouted.

Tai brought the motorcycle to a skidding halt. He stepped out with Sora coming out of the backseat.

"If you know what's good for you, you'll back away from my sister, you overgrown goat!" Tai said defiantly. "If you hurt her, then I'll make sure you've chewed your last tin can!"

"I have been hired to take her and nothing shall stand in the way of my bounty!" Mephistomon declared.

"We'll see about that!" Sora shot back.

Biyomon, who was also riding in the back, took that as her cue to spring into action.

****Biyomon…Digivolve to…Birdramon!****

The champion Birdramon was bigger, fiercer, and more intimidating than her good-natured rookie form. The fiery bird took to the sky and swooped down from above towards Mephistomon, but the dark Digimon quickly surrounded himself with fog. Birdramon stopped in her tracks and looked around, not seeing where the fiend went. Out of nowhere, Mephistomon emerged from the fog.

"Dark Cloud!"

Mephistomon's Dark Cloud attack enveloped Birdramon and knocked her all the way down to the ground. The bird cringed while Mephistomon's evil laugh echoed throughout Odaiba.

"Is that it? Such a weak showing!"

Birdramon rose up again. "Meteor Wing!"

The Meteor Wing attack merely bounced off the laughing Mephistomon.

"That tickles! But enough of these games. It's time to clip your wings!"

With that, Mephistomon also took flight. He caught up to Birdramon and grabbed her in a bear hug and started squeezing the life out of her. He then tossed Birdramon down to the pavement, nearly cracking the street.

Sora was in disbelief. "Birdramon!"

Mephistomon slowly flew back to Earth. "Are you quite finished?"

Birdramon responded by getting right back up.

****Birdramon…Digivolve to…Garudamon!****

Mephistomon looked surprised to see the sudden Digivolution. Now in her ultimate form, Garudamon wanted one more go with Mephistomon and flew forward. A shoulder tackle shoved Mephistomon into a nearby building, bringing rubble down upon them. Mephistomon fought back by tearing a streetlight out of the ground and slamming it over Garudamon's shoulder. The ultimate-level bird staggered and Mephistomon continued his onslaught.

"Dark Cloud!"

Once again, the Dark Cloud attack enveloped Garudamon. There looked to be no escape from this relentless assault.

* * *

Rika kept following Renamon until they finally reached the scene of the fight. They were right by the Odaiba town square where two Digimon were in the midst of battle. Rika held out her Digivice.

"Garudamon, ultimate level. Her Wing Blade attack crushes her enemies and cracks them like an egg. Renamon, do you recognize the other one?"

Renamon was also in disbelief at the sight of the other Digimon. "Mephistomon! But I thought we did away with him years ago!"

"He must have been reconfigured. But still, I never thought I'd see him again! And if he's just as dangerous as he was last time, then we'd better get in there now!"

"This is not the time to take chances," Renamon noted. "We must Biomerge."

Rika held up her Digivice. "Then what are we waiting for?"

**Biomerge Digivolution**

"Biomerge activate!"

****Renamon…Biomerge to…Sakuyamon!****

It was a feeling Rika hadn't experienced in many years. Once again, she felt the power and the grace of being Sakuyamon.

She couldn't wait to go into battle now.

* * *

Davis couldn't believe he was going into the frat house by himself. He didn't want to think his friends had abandoned him after a mere skydiving incident, but Kazu and Kenta had indeed ditched him. Davis was left all alone for his initiation. But he knew he wouldn't regret it once he was finally in.

Davis carefully knocked on the door before gently pushing the door open. The lights were out, so Davis turned on the switch. Once again, the same two Alphas were waiting for him on the couch.

"We're glad to see you made it through the skydiving ritual," the buzzcut said. "Apparently, your two friends couldn't hang."

"Eh, don't worry about it," the ponytail continued. "If anything, this weeds out the wannabes. That's the whole purpose of the initiation rituals. We find out just who IS serious about becoming a member of our prestigious fraternity. And you're showing us that you CAN hang and we're proud of you, Travis!"

"Davis."

"That's what I said. Anyway, we've got some good news and some bad news. You're initiation rituals are done for the next few days."

"Uh…that's good."

The buzzcut took a pitcher of ice water and poured it over Davis's head. "WRONG ANSWER! You are supposed to ENJOY your initiation rituals! Now what was it you MEANT to say?"

Davis shivered. "I meant to say…darn…no more initiation rituals?"

The ponytail chuckled. "No, Damon…"

"Davis."

"…there are no more initiation rituals for a couple of days. That's the bad news. The good news is, you won't have to wait long before your next chance to pledge your loyalty to Alpha Zeta. And here is your next ritual."

The ponytail handed a slip of paper to Davis that had specific instructions on it. When Davis saw the instructions, he sweatdropped. He couldn't believe what they were asking him to do.

"Your mission is top secret," the buzzcut said. "If anybody finds out, even your own roommates, you will be disqualified as a brother and you will be denied membership into our fraternity. So it's in your best interests to keep this all to yourself until the time comes."

The ponytail started pushing Davis towards the exit. "In the meantime, we'll give you time to prepare for the enviable task ahead. Man, how I wish I could be you and be lucky enough to do all this again. Good luck, Dayton!"

"It's…"

Davis didn't even get the chance to correct him before getting shoved out the door. On the upside, at least he didn't have to do anything else today. He could use the rest just hours after having to skydive.

Of course, once Davis looked at the paper and what he had to do next, he didn't know how he'd be able to do it. This looked like it was too much.

But on the other hand, he was willing to do anything to make it into Alpha Zeta. He knew it would be worth it.

* * *

Kari cringed as the fight commenced. Garudamon wasn't holding up well as Mephistomon continued to have his way with her. Garudamon tried to get up one more time, but Mephistomon once again swung the streetlight like a baseball bat, knocking her down. With Garudamon down, Mephistomon once again turned to Kari.

"It's time for us to GO!"

"Back off!"

Someone leaped in between Kari and Mephistomon, swiping down a staff. It was a Digimon with black and yellow armor with purple gloves and boots. She had a yellow helmet with ears that fell to her shoulders and two long locks of hair that fell to the small of her back. She carried herself off with a combination of ferocity and elegance that Kari hadn't felt since Gatomon had Digivolved into the ultimate- level for the first time.

The Digimon turned around to face Kari. "Get out of here, now!"

The two voices that came from that Digimon made Kari curious. "Rika? Renamon?"

"Take a hint and get out before…AAH!!"

With the Digimon's back turned, Mephistomon couldn't resist but get in a cheap shot. The Digimon fell down as Mephistomon slowly stalked her. The Digimon struggled to get up.

"I thought we finished you forever, Mephistomon!"

"For as long as there is light, there shall always be darkness," Mephistomon stated. "And as long as there is darkness, I shall always return. I recognize that voice. The fox and her Tamer, correct?"

"The name's…Sakuyamon! And we are one! And we're here to put an end to your darkness! What do you want with Kari?"

"If you must know, I am no longer in the business of destroying the pitiful human race," Mephistomon explained. "From the rumors spreading in the Digital World, someone out there shall complete that task for me. Someone whose power eclipses even my own. I have now become a bounty hunter…and my latest bounty comes once I retrieve HER!"

"I won't let you!" Sakuyamon growled. "She may be sickeningly perky, but she's still my friend!"

Kari smiled. "Rika? You consider me a friend?"

"DON'T…push it!"

"Your useless gesture of friendship shall prove futile! You CANNOT defeat me!"

Sakuyamon rose to her feet and twirled her staff. "You've been beaten once…and you WILL be beaten again, Mephistomon!"

Mephistomon responded to that by swinging the streetlight again. Sakuyamon responded to that by slicing it in half with her staff. With the streetlight no longer being a viable option, Mephistomon reached for the nearest weapon handy. He found a certain vehicle.

Tai's eyes widened. "NO! Anything but that!"

Mephistomon picked up Tai's motorcycle. He held it over his head and tossed it at Sakuyamon. In an act of self-defense, Sakuyamon sliced the oncoming bike in two pieces. Once Sakuyamon was distracted for that split-second after avoiding the motorcycle, Mephistomon ran forward and knocked her back with a flying tackle. Sakuyamon landed on one of the motorcycle halves, breaking it even worse than it already was.

Mephistomon chuckled and stepped towards his prey. Kari could only stand there and watch, but once again started to feel the darkness start to clutch her very soul.

And it was coming closer to taking her away again.

* * *

Sora ran over to her fallen partner. "Garudamon! Are you ok?"

"Stay back, Sora!" Garudamon shouted. "His Dark Cloud is still looming! It's dangerous!"

Tai was enraged. "He's after my sister…and he's destroyed MY BIKE! I'm gonna destroy him! Uh…it's times like this I wish I had Izzy around so he could tell me how to destroy him."

_"Psst…Tai! Sora!"_

Tai and Sora looked around once they heard their names being called. They finally looked over at a nearby computer shop. All of the computers were shut off with the exception of one lone Compaq in the display window. And a familiar face was on the monitor.

Sora couldn't believe it. "Gennai?"

_"I figure you guys could use some help. So here's a pick-me-up from Zhuqiaomon!"_

A red light came from the monitor and it went straight to Garudamon. Soon, everyone saw exactly what pick-me-up Gennai was talking about.

****Garudamon…Mega Digivolve to…Phoenixmon!****

The light from the monitor resulted in something Sora had never seen. Her partner had Digivolved a step further. Taking flight now was a golden bird with wings as bright as the sun. Her beak was a bright yellow and her tail feathers were a fiery red.

Sora had to cover her face to keep from being blinded by the bright light shining from Phoenixmon. She had never seen anything like this before.

A new Mega had emerged and her name was Phoenixmon.

* * *

Kari was nearly blinded by the light coming from the sky. She squinted and managed to make out a large bird in the sky, emitting a bright light from her feathers. And Sakuyamon and Mephistomon were also squinting. Mephistomon, in particular, was perturbed by the brightness.

"AAAAGH!! THE LIGHT!! I CAN'T STAND THE LIGHT!! WHO DARES SHINE LIGHT ON ME?!"

The bird spoke. "I am Phoenixmon, the noble, mythical bird of rebirth and love! I shine down upon my foes with my Crimson Flame and Starlight Explosion attack!"

Mephistomon outstretched his arm. "Dark Cloud!"

Phoenixmon countered. "Crimson Flame!"

The Dark Cloud headed straight for Phoenixmon, but it quickly evaporated once it reached the powerful Crimson Flame attack. The light was too powerful and Mephistomon's dark attacks couldn't penetrate it. The dark Digimon didn't have anywhere else to turn, as he was surrounded on both sides.

Sakuyamon took this chance to move in. "Spirit Strike!"

Sakuyamon swiped forward with her staff and attacked with the spirits within it. Once struck by Sakuyamon's attack, Mephistomon stumbled forward…right towards Phoenixmon.

"Starlight Explosion!"

Phoenixmon's attack completely overwhelmed Mephistomon. With no way to defend himself from such an awesome attack of fire and light, the evil one was deleted instantly. The battle was over as Phoenixmon spread her wings and screeched to mark her victory. As the remains of Mephistomon's data scattered, the sky began to clear. The blackness faded and the sky was restored to its normal color.

Kari felt relieved. With her friends at her side, she had narrowly averted another abduction. But this was really starting to worry her. Somebody wanted her badly…but she didn't know why.

Sakuyamon put her staff down in relief. "It's over. I hope we won't have to deal with him again for a long time." She then walked over to Kari. "Are you ok?"

Kari nodded. "I'm fine. I just wish I knew where he came from."

"NOW do you believe in saving every Digimon?"

Kari hesitated. "I still don't believe in killing Digimon. But I don't think there was anything else we could have done."

Tai walked over and looked back towards a computer shop. "I just wish Gennai stuck around long enough to give us some answers." Then he looked up at Phoenixmon. "But man, did he ever help."

Sora looked on in awe, too, but reiterated Kari's question. "But who brought that Mephistomon in? And why was he after Kari?"

Kari suddenly remembered what he told her. "He said he was hired by some employers."

"Employers?" Sora asked. "As in plural? Izzy told us there was only one we had to worry about."

Tai pounded his fist on what remained of his motorcycle. "I want to know who's after my sister! And I'll find out myself if I have to!"

"That's noble and all, Tai, but maybe we should talk to Izzy on this one," Sora suggested. "We can come up with a plan."

Tai sighed deeply. "Sounds just like old times."

* * *

Takato waited comfortably in Izzy's apartment as Izzy continued to examine Guilmon. He had his laptop plugged to the wall while he had some wires strapped onto Guilmon's ears, back, and chest. There were diagnostics running all across the computer screen and papers were coming out one-by-one from the printer.

In the meantime, Joe, Izzy's roommate, was doing some studies of his own. He was working on a major project and was surrounded by medical supplies and an inanimate human mannequin. Joe was conducting some studies for his big thesis and he even had an assistant. Cody Hida was assisting Joe with whatever he needed.

"Cody, hand me my scalpel."

Cody handed the sharp tool to Joe, so he could make an incision to the mannequin. While Joe and Cody were hard at work, Tentomon and Gomamon…were not. They didn't have major college assignments to worry about. They were able to relax and watch TV while their partners were hard at work.

Izzy took the papers from the printer and looked through their results. He sorted through them and froze for a moment. He examined them closer before finally nodding.

"Interesting. I don't know how else to describe these results. I don't have a word for what I'm seeing."

"Not even 'Prodigious'?" Tentomon cut in.

"Prodigious doesn't fit in this context," Izzy replied. "In fact, I don't think I have a word to describe this other than…strange."

"What do you see?" Takato asked curiously.

"I had a theory that Digimon belonging to Tamers would differ from the structure of Digimon belonging to DigiDestined," Izzy explained. "And I had a feeling that Guilmon would somehow prove that, based on what you told us about where he came from. He's different alright, but I had no idea."

That got Joe's attention. "What do you mean, Izzy?"

"All of these reports are coming back completely inconclusive," Izzy answered. "With any other Digimon I've studied, I've gotten at least different sets of data and algorithms along with signs of life. With Guilmon, I'm getting binary numbers, data, and algorithms that I've never seen in any other Digimon before. He's thoroughly unique. Takato, where did you say Guilmon came from again?"

"He came from a drawing I made," Takato replied, recalling the day he first got his partner. It was so many years ago, back when he was simply drawing in the middle of class.

"I really don't know what to say about this," Izzy said in disbelief. "There's absolutely no logical explanation for the diagnostics I'm getting."

"Has this been the case with all the Tamers' Digimon?" Joe asked.

"Actually, that's the other thing! None of the other Digimon belonging to the Tamers have returned these results."

"Other Digimon?" Takato repeated curiously.

Izzy grinned. "I'm also in the midst of studying certain other Digimon. Allow me to show you."

Izzy led Takato into another room of the apartment. Takato was surprised to see Guardromon and MarineAngemon there. Like Guilmon, they also had wires hooked up to their ears, back and chest.

"Is it getting hot in here or am I just malfunctioning?" Guardromon pondered.

"These results are coming back relatively normal," Izzy explained to Takato. "Their diagnostics are very similar to those I get from the rest of the Digimon I've examined. And that leads me to believe that the difference between DigiDestined and Tamers come with the human partners and not the Digimon themselves.

"There was only one thing that had me curious. Guardromon came back relatively normal as we've run into our share of Guardromon before. We've also made friends with an Andromon in the past, so we're familiar with their line. However, I was very curious about MarineAngemon. What intrigued me about him was the fact that he was a Mega. I didn't think any Digimon other than Gatomon could stay past their rookie level, but these two have proven me wrong. That prompted me to conduct more studies, but nothing conclusive has come up yet. MarineAngemon, in particular, has me curious because I've never seen a Mega so small. I can't even conclude what line he comes from. Where did they come from, Takato?"

Takato thought about that. "I remember Kazu telling me he met an Andromon back when we went into the Digital World. After a long battle, he devolved into Guardromon and he's been that way ever since. MarineAngemon just fell out of the sky…literally. We have no idea where he came from and we don't know how he stays strong enough to remain at the Mega level."

"It's certainly a phenomenon I'd like to know more about," Izzy stated. Suddenly, some machines started functioning. "Prodigious! We've got something!"

Izzy ran over to his printer, which was going crazy. It started printing out papers at a fast rate. They came out faster than Izzy could pick them up. As he caught up to the pile, Tentomon and Gomamon came into the room, obviously curious about the sudden pickup in production.

"Something new, Izzy?" Tentomon asked.

Izzy read through the papers. "We've got new information on MarineAngemon. His data's been completely cross-referenced through the archives on my laptop. His image has been run through the archive of every single Digimon we've seen since our first days in the Digital World and a lineage has been determined. In other words, the computer's determined MarineAngemon's rookie form."

That intrigued Takato. "Really? What is it?"

Izzy picked up his laptop. "All I have to do is press this button and we'll find out." He pressed the button and the answer came up. Izzy promptly gasped. "Unbelievable!"

"What is it?" Tentomon asked eagerly.

Izzy refreshed the results. "This must be some kind of error." He refreshed the page and gasped again. "Same results! This is no computer error!"

"What is it?" Tentomon asked again.

Izzy tried to piece the words together. "MarineAngemon's rookie form is…is…is……GOMAMON!"

That fascinated Takato. A longtime question had finally been answered for him. Likely, it'll fascinate Kenta in the same way. He had always wondered about where MarineAngemon Digivolved and he could never get the little one to tell him, because he hardly ever talked. This would be sure to answer that question he had since he first got his partner.

Someone else, on the other hand, wasn't fascinated. That was Gomamon.

"T-T-That's…a joke…right, Izzy? You never were much of a kidder, but keep trying. Maybe you'll get it someday."

"It's no joke, Gomamon. MarineAngemon is really a Digivolved version…of YOU!"

"Y-Y-You're serious?! You mean, after Zudomon I turn into…into THAT?!"

MarineAngemon smiled angelically and chuckled playfully. Gomamon was in disbelief.

"This is all so exciting!" Izzy exclaimed. "I wonder what other incredible information I'll get?"

Gomamon sweatdropped. "THAT'S exciting to you? Doesn't sound that way to me."

Joe and Cody suddenly burst into the room. Izzy looked totally eager to tell them what he discovered, but Joe quickly cut him off.

"Izzy, Tai just called…"

* * *

It was just like it was before. Ken was walking Yolei back to her room, with Wormmon on his shoulder, just like he did when this school year started. After their adventure in the Digital World, Ken was just glad to be back in one piece. But he was also happy he got to clear everything up with Yolei.

"You know, I'm starting to wonder what came over me," Yolei said sadly. "I must have made Henry feel completely awkward. Look, I'm sorry, Ken. I'm big enough to admit that I was just going out with Henry just to make you jealous. I shouldn't have put him in that position and I know when I'm wrong."

Ken was feeling better having heard that admission. "I'm glad to hear you say that, Yolei."

Of course, Yolei wasn't about to admit she was 100 percent wrong. "But I don't want you to think you're completely innocent, Ken Ichijouji! I should still be mad at you!"

Ken was in disbelief. "STILL mad at me? B-But why?"

Yolei didn't even have to answer that question. She just gave Ken a cold stare. Ken knew exactly what was coming. He turned around…and saw Rosa, who proceeded to give him another hug.

"Great to see you, Ken! I've been looking for you all day! Where've you been?"

Ken stammered. "I…I…I…"

"You can tell me later. I'm sorry I've been so busy lately, but I have to go again. Life isn't easy, you know. Bye-bye, mi amor. Bye Gusano."

Wormmon waved calmly. "Bye Rosa."

Rosa leaned over and kissed Ken on the cheek before skipping off merrily again. Ken didn't even know what hit him. He just didn't know what to make of any of this.

Yolei stared a hole right into him. "Ahem…like I said, I should STILL be mad at you. You know, you'll have to deal with her eventually…or else you'll have to deal with me and TRUST ME, you don't want that."

Ken nodded solemnly. "Yes'm."

"But…I'm willing to forgive you…for now," Yolei sighed. Then her eyes brightened like the boy-crazy Yolei of days past. "Besides, you know I can't stay mad at you!"

Yolei wrapped her arms around Ken and gave him an unexpected liplock, nearly knocking Wormmon off his perch on Ken's shoulder. And in the middle of the kiss, a flash went off from a nearby bush. The kiss broke that quickly and both Ken and Yolei turned to the bush…where Terriermon came out with a camera in his hand.

"Just had to give Henry some proof that this is all over," Terriermon grinned. "You two ok now?"

"We will be as soon as we get some privacy!" Yolei growled.

Terriermon shook his head. "I don't know how you'll get privacy out here around the building, but then again, you're the girlfriend. I'm outta here."

Terriermon went into the bush and, assumedly, headed back to his room. Ken signaled to Wormmon to follow. The little Digimon jumped off his perch and followed Terriermon out, leaving Ken and Yolei alone together. Yolei dipped Ken down and gave him another kiss.

Things looked to be normal again.

* * *

A week after the attack by Mephistomon, Kari was settling back into her college life and getting back into her groove. But the week didn't go by easily for her. She remained on the lookout, constantly looking over her shoulder for any signs of the alumni. For all she knew, they could have been watching the entire week and she may not have even realized it.

And with the seven days up, Kari met back in the sorority house as stipulated. But before she walked in, she noticed she arrived at the same time as Rika. There was something different about Rika on this day. She looked…nervous. She didn't look like herself.

"Rika? What's wrong?"

Rika shook her head. "Nothing. None of your business."

Kari smiled. "You know, you said last week that we're friends. Come on, Rika. You can tell me."

"And I told you last week not to push it!"

"There really IS something bothering you, isn't there?"

"There's nothing bothering me! It's just…well…I'm nervous. I really want this bad!"

Kari didn't know what to make of this. This wasn't like the Rika she knew. She had never been so passionate about anything as she was about getting into this sorority.

After that brief meeting, both girls walked into the sorority house together where the sisters were waiting for her. A podium was set up and Leezel walked up on Kari and Rika were seated in the middle of the room.

"A week has passed and now it's time for us to make our decision as to which one of you will be the final inductee into Delta Gamma. Last week, we determined that two Delta Gamma alumni would watch you two throughout the week and report to us which one of you would be better suited to our sorority. But…we've hit a snag. You see, the alumni…never reported back.

"So with that unfortunate setback, the decision fell upon all of us. And we'd like to inform you both that we've made…a very difficult decision, because you see…it really wasn't easy to come to this consensus…"

Kari couldn't hear anymore and timidly raised her hand. "Permission to speak, Leezel?"

"Permission granted, Kari."

Kari stood up and cleared her throat. "This past week has been very stressful with the idea of alumni watching over me and possibly watching my every move. But I'd gladly do it over again if it meant an opportunity to be a part of Delta Gamma. I'm very honored that you decided to give me this much consideration. But I have to be honest with you and make this decision easier for you. I'd like to decline as of right now so that Rika may allowed into Delta Gamma."

That got a gasp of shock from the entire room. But nobody was more shocked than Rika. She was speechless.

Leezel blinked. "Kari…do you realize what you're saying?"

"I do. I would love to be a part of Delta Gamma, but Rika has shown this entire week the kind of desire and heart that you're all really looking for. And I would be honored if she would take the final spot. She would make a much better sister than I would."

Rika was completely taken aback. "Kari…I…"

Leezel pounded her gavel. "Well, I guess that does make our decision a lot easier. Rika Nonaka, welcome to Delta Gamma."

The sisters cheered and Leezel handed Rika her sorority sweater. Rika was still in a state of shock. Kari, satisfied with seeing Rika get what she desired more than anything, decided to let the girl have her moment and walk out. She turned around and started walking out the door, but not before seeing Danielle give her a thumbs up, commending her for her actions.

Kari walked out the door and figured it was time to head back to her room, but a couple of seconds later…

"Kari! Wait!"

Kari stopped and turned around, just in time to see Rika, in her new sweater, running towards her.

Kari giggled. "That's a good look for you."

Rika shrugged off the compliment and got down to the heart of the matter. "Kari, why'd you do that? Why stand up for ME? You wanted this, too!"

Kari shook her head. "But I didn't want it as bad as you did. I could feel it. You wanted this more than anything in the world. And I was more than happy to let you have it."

"Kari…I hope you didn't do this because I helped save you last week. I already told you, you don't owe me for that."

Kari shook her head again. "I didn't speak up because you saved my life. I spoke up because you're my friend."

Rika tried to keep her tough façade, but a tear did roll down her face. "You didn't have to do that, Kari. Thank you." She briefly reached forward for a hug, but quickly broke it and smiled. "But this doesn't mean I like you."

Rika started to turn and walk away, but there was one more thing that was bothering Kari.

"Rika…?"

Rika turned around. "Yeah?"

"Can you answer me one last question?"

"What's that?"

"Why DID you want to be in Delta Gamma so bad?"

Rika sighed. "I guess I do owe you an explanation." She walked over to Kari. "It's a family thing. My grandmother was a Gamma and so was my mom. When I was younger, I never got along with my mom. I didn't like that she was a model and I always gave her a hard time because she wanted me to be one too. It wasn't until shortly after I became a Tamer that I realized just how much my mom really loved me. And after everything with the D-Reaper, I wanted to make up for being such a brat to her. I wanted to start over…and be the kind of daughter she deserved to have. And after a while…I actually wanted to be more like her.

"But don't get me wrong. I would never be a model. No way! But…there was one way I could take after my mother…and that was by being a part of this sorority. It's a total family thing. That's why I wanted this so bad."

Kari smiled. "I think that's wonderful. Why keep that a secret?"

Rika chuckled. "Doesn't fit my personality. So I trust you won't tell anybody? I'm confiding in you as a friend, Kari."

"I won't tell a soul."

"Thanks, Kari…for everything."

As Rika started walking away, Kari was wondering if she was in an alternate universe. She had seen Rika smile more in the last few minutes than she had all year. And what was even weirder…was the fact that the two had seemingly become friends. The impossible had seemingly happened.

"Wow…Jeri won't believe this."

  


Next Week: A new week has started and things are about to take a new turn. Davis is getting ready for his next initiation ritual. What does the frat have him doing this time? Takato gets a new assignment for his art class. And you won't believe what he does! Kari and Rika have seemingly patched up their differences and are on a new path towards friendship. Will Renamon and Gatomon follow suit? Not if Impmon can help it! Come back to see what happens on the next Digimon: The College Years!

  


Author's Note: For those unfamiliar with the backstory, Mephistomon was indeed a thorn in the Tamers' side once in the past. He was the main villain in one of the Digimon Tamers movies, all of which have yet to be released in the United States. No spoilers here (since even *I* haven't seen it), so that's as much of an explanation I can give.

  


Any comments? Then mail me at AmericanCaptor@hotmail.com and don't forget to review below!


	27. The Misadventures of Goggle Man!

Last Week: Kari was nearly taken by Mephistomon, but Tai and Sora happened to be in the right place at the right time. While they arrived at the scene, so did Rika and Renamon who Biomerged into Sakuyamon. After getting tossed around by Mephistomon, Gennai appeared once again and helped Garudamon Digivolve all the way to Phoenixmon. Combined with Sakuyamon, Mephistomon didn't stand a chance. Davis got to the frat house and was given his next instructions, but what is it? Also, Izzy conducted studies on some of the Tamers' Digimon. While he didn't find anything on Guilmon, he did find something else. He found out MarineAngemon is the Mega form of Gomamon…and Gomamon didn't take that too well. Finally, the week ended and Delta Gamma had made their choice. But before hearing their decision, Kari stopped them and stepped down, allowing Rika to become a Gamma. The impossible has seemingly happened! Kari and Rika…are friends!

  


**Digimon: The College Years**

Episode 27- The Misadventures of Goggle Man!

  


Takato remained focused on what was sitting in front of him. Although class was almost over, he kept his eye on his drawing, which had received praise, yet also received a lot of criticisms from his professor. It almost got to the point where Takato tuned out his professor while he concentrated.

"And with that, we'll end today's class. Remember your portfolio's due next Friday. Have a good day. Mr. Matsuki, a moment of your time?"

Takato stopped on his way and walked over to his professor's desk. He could only wonder what this sudden conference was about.

"Mr. Matsuki, I'd like to talk to you about an opportunity."

"An opportunity?"

"I've seen your drawings, Takato, and they're very good. You have the talent and the desire to become a professional artist. I'd like to tell you about an opening on the school paper. They're looking for somebody to draw a short comic strip for each issue. What do you say, Mr. Matsuki?"

"Me? Draw a comic? What's it about?"

"Anything you want. Are you up for it?"

This sounded like a fun opportunity. Takato couldn't believe he was actually being given the chance to draw a comic for his school's paper. This was a big step for him. A college campus of thousands would be witness to his work. He couldn't pass it up.

"Yeah! Thank you, sir!"

"Glad to hear you're in, Takato. Here's all the information. All you have to do is bring them a sample of your work. My advice? Make it the best you have."

This was exciting for Takato. He couldn't wait to get started. But there was just one thing he wasn't sure of. There was one thing holding me back.

He had no idea what his comic would be about.

* * *

Takato took his seat. "So what do you think?"

With this big chance he was being given, Takato couldn't wait to go out and tell somebody. So he didn't waste any time and headed out to lunch at the Den with Henry and Jeri and telling them both what happened.

"That sounds exciting, Takato!" Jeri said cheerfully.

"You've always been the best artist I've known," Henry added. "Any idea what you're drawing about?"

"That's the only problem," Takato sighed. "I don't have a single clue. I mean…this is the first time I've ever drawn for an audience. What'll I draw about? What is it college students want to see?"

Jeri twirled a French fry around. "Hmm…college students like us…like to see something we can relate to. We want to see something that we understand and we can laugh at because it's so true to us. You understand what I'm saying?"

"She's saying appeal to the average student," Henry clarified.

Takato thought about that. "Appeal to the average student? But what would the average student understand? And how do I make that funny?"

Takato looked around as he pondered those questions. He looked over at the long line at the salad bar and saw an unexpected source of inspiration.

He saw Davis standing in line. And he was overloading his plate with lettuce, fruits, and all kinds of greens. It was just about filled to capacity. Then Davis went ahead and tried to dump salad dressing on his pile of salad. And once he did…the salad tipped over and fell all over him, along with all his dressing.

TK, who was standing behind him, just shook his head. "You know, it'd be easier to just make two trips."

"I stand by my choice," Davis said dryly. He started piling a whole new pile, starting the cycle again. "I'll get it this time."

Takato couldn't help but snicker. He thought about all the escapades Davis had put himself through. Not just since arriving at Odaiba University, but also through his entire life. When he told Takato those stories, they sounded too wacky to be true. Davis would make the perfect template for a comic character.

Like any good artist, Takato started drawing on his napkin. He drew a caricature of Davis, complete with his brown bomber jacket and blue denim shorts and, of course, his trademark goggles. But to make him look somewhat different, Davis drew him the style of those South Park cartoons from America.

Jeri looked over Takato's shoulder and knew exactly what he was doing. "Takato…please tell you aren't basing a character on Davis."

"He'll never notice," Takato muttered. "I just have to keep drawing him in this style…and give him a totally different name."

"Uh huh, but why Davis?" Henry asked curiously.

"Because he's just…I don't know…funny. He's exactly like us, but the things he does and the things he gets himself into are just…funny. The average college student can relate…only he has goggles. Hey! That's what I'll call him! I'll call my character…Goggle Man!"

Takato drew a capital 'G' on his character's shirt. And thus, Goggle Man was officially born.

In the meantime, Davis was moving on to the soup. But the ladle accidentally slipped from his hand and the hot soup fell on his pant leg.

"AAH!"

The ladle fell to the ground with a clang as Davis frantically tried to dry himself off. Takato couldn't believe his luck. He had struck a gold mine.

At this rate, he'd have enough material to make Goggle Man last the whole year.

* * *

Kari hadn't felt this good in a long time. There was a huge monkey off her back now that the pressure of looking good for Delta Gamma was finally off. But she was feeling good for another reason. There was another reason Kari was feeling so much better now. After months of turmoil, Kari and Rika had finally become friends.

In fact, there was a scene unfolding that nobody thought possible. Kari was sitting on the bed behind Rika, seated in a chair. Kari was doing her new friend's hair as Calumon stood on the bed and watched in amazement.

"So you two are friends now?" Calumon asked curiously.

"Tell the whole world, why don't you?" Rika joked.

"When did it happen? How did it happen? Aren't you guys gonna tell me?"

"It's just something that happened," Kari replied. "It wasn't anything out of the ordinary."

Calumon smiled. "That's nice. So I guess we're all going to get along now?"

As if on cue, a large crash was heard coming from the other side of the room. Kari left Rika's hair in mid-ponytail and looked at the scene…to see that a fight was about to erupt between Gatomon and Renamon.

"Look what you did to my litter box!" Gatomon shouted.

"It was like that when I got here," Renamon sneered.

"Don't lie! You know you're the one who tipped it over! And LOOK! My favorite glass! It's been SHATTERED! I ought to bury you in that litter box, Foxy!"

"You little hairball! That's the last time you'll call me FOXY!!"

Renamon grabbed a nearby pillow and smacked Gatomon over the head with it. Gatomon rubbed her cheek and snarled.

"You touched me! You're going home, Renamon!"

"Technically, I didn't touch you. The pillow did."

Gatomon smirked. "Is that right? You want a loophole, huh? Well, then two can play that game."

Gatomon grabbed another pillow and slapped her rival with it. Before long, both rivals had broken into an all-out pillow fight.

Rika cleared her throat. "Ahem…"

Gatomon and Renamon both stopped in mid-swing. They looked over to see Kari and Rika before giving each other quizzical glances. Seeing the two roommates who had been at odds for so long looking rather close caught the Digimon off-guard. Since it was the first time Kari and Rika were both in the dorm since Rika made it into Delta Gamma, the news of their newly-formed friendship hadn't hit the two feuding Digimon just yet.

"Do you two mind?" Kari asked dryly. "I'm trying to do Rika's hair."

Gatomon and Renamon just looked on in shock.

"Well…what are you two looking at?" Rika demanded.

Renamon slowly approached her partner and leaned towards her ear. "Rika…is there something you aren't telling me?"

"I'll talk to you later, Renamon. My friend's doing my hair."

"Your FRIEND?" Renamon asked in disbelief. "She's your FRIEND?!"

"You heard me. Kari's my friend and a really good one."

"But I thought you didn't like her," Renamon pointed out.

"Things happen," Rika replied with a smile. "Feelings change. You and Gatomon should keep that in mind."

Renamon raised an eyebrow. "What are you implying with that?"

"Yeah, what's that supposed to mean?" Gatomon added.

"I'll tell you what it's supposed to mean," Kari cut in. "Rika and I were able to put aside our differences and become friends. Maybe you two should consider doing the same."

Calumon was eager to get his two friends on the path towards friendship. He grabbed Renamon's hand and guided it towards Gatomon. He put Renamon's arm around Gatomon's shoulder. Renamon and Gatomon both sweatdropped.

"There you go!" Calumon grinned. "Now you two are buddies!"

"Oh no we're not!" Renamon and Gatomon both snapped. They both stepped away and turned their backs to each other.

"Why are you two being so stubborn?" Rika groaned.

"A grudge that's lasted this long isn't easy to put aside," Gatomon grumbled.

"I can't think of a moment when I haven't looked at Gatomon with disdain and contempt."

Kari smiled…and suddenly started laughing. She let go of Rika's hair and fell back on bed, getting a total case of the giggles.

Gatomon frowned. "It's nice to see you find our war funny, Kari."

"We've been through so much. How can laugh at our grudge like that?"

Kari tried to stop herself, but found it difficult. "I'm sorry. I remember everything Gatomon told me about when you two first met. But…ever since we've gotten here, you two…haven't exactly had a normal feud. In fact, you two have had a lot of fun."

Gatomon put her hand to her hips. "Kari, she SHAVED me! Only now is the fur starting to grow back."

"Ok, save for one incident. But the rest of the time, you two have been having fun and haven't even realized it."

"Oh please," Renamon scoffed. "I have NOT had fun with that cat!"

"Is that so?" Rika began. "What about the poker games?"

"The games of Go Fish?" Kari added.

"The staring contests?"

"The rounds of Pictionary?"

"The game of Twister?"

"The round of Pin the Tail On the Donkey?"

"The games of Duel Monsters?"

Renamon scoffed again. "Those were forms of competition, not FUN."

Gatomon snickered. "Remember when you tried to pick that apple off the top of my head? You should have seen the look on your face when Impmon picked it off."

Renamon chuckled. "Yeah, well I remember when you tried to pin the tail on a cactus. My sides nearly split."

"I still remember when you nearly tied yourself in a pretzel playing Twister."

"What about you? You almost wound up doing the splits."

Renamon and Gatomon shared a laugh for the first time since they met. It was exactly what Kari was hoping for.

"See? You two have had fun, even if you haven't realized it."

Gatomon thought about that. "Maybe you're right, Kari. Now that I think about it, I have had fun here. Hey Renamon…as long as our partners are friends…you want to at least try…you know…getting along?"

Renamon briefly hesitated. "You think we can really put years of bad blood behind us?"

"We owe it to Kari and Rika to at least try."

Renamon nodded. "You are right." She offered a handshake. "Truce?"

Gatomon sighed contentedly and accepted. "Truce."

Kari couldn't help but feel good when she saw two long-time rivals finally put their past behind them. This would be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

* * *

Impmon was snoozing peacefully on the ground, near the wall when something woke him up. It was the sound of something unpleasant. It was Calumon.

"YAY! You two are finally friends!"

Impmon opened his eyes and thought he was waking up in the middle of a nightmare. He tried pinching his arm to make sure. All he got was a stinging pain, but nothing else happened. He was seeing the same thing. This wasn't a dream.

Renamon and Gatomon were really shaking hands. Apparently, they were actually putting an end to their feud. It was a day Impmon didn't think he'd see…or wanted to see. Since he arrived at this school full of humans, the brightest part of his day was adding fuel to this fire between Renamon and Gatomon. It was fun to see them go at it.

So it bothered him just a little bit to see that they were making up.

"Friends, eh?" Impmon muttered to himself. "We'll see about that."

* * *

Takato had his first comic strip ready to go. With the bottomless pit of inspiration that was Davis, it only took Takato a few hours to complete it. Once he was finished with the first strip, he took it over to the offices of the Dragon Daily, the school's newspaper. The offices were empty with the exception of an upper-classman working the presses. He was a spiky-haired blond guy with a black tank top and jeans. He patiently had his arms crossed as he set up the presses.

Takato timidly approached. "Uh…hello?"

The guy turned around. "Can I help you, buddy?"

"Uh…yes. My name's Takato Matsuki and I'm here for the comic job."

"Oh yeah, I heard of you. You're the kid with all the talent. Let me see what you got."

Takato handed up his comic strip. The guy looked at it carefully…and soon started chuckling. It didn't take long for him to just start laughing.

"Hey, this is funny. A college guy…stands in a lunch line…can't even get himself a salad without looking like a moron. This is good stuff. What do you call it, Takato?"

"Oh, this? I call it…The Adventures of Goggle Man."

"The Adventures of Goggle Man. I like it a lot! This could be huge! You're hired, bud. Can you make a strip for everyday?"

Takato knew the answer to that. "Of course! I've got a lot of ideas just raring to go."

"Ok, good stuff. I am Honda, the editor of the Dragon Daily. I can tell you're going to be a great artist someday. Keep up the good work. I can't wait to see what Goggle Man has in store next week."

Takato grinned. "Trust me. His adventures will only get wackier."

With so many ideas running through his head, Takato knew he couldn't be stopped. Things could only get better from here. The idea well wasn't about to run dry anytime soon.

* * *

Once night fell, Talley went along with Riley to the usual rendezvous point in the University's computer lab. A week after the Digimon attack, the Hypnos agents were in dire need to regroup. While Talley and Riley were dangerously close to the scene and watched as the wild Digimon approached the Kamiya girl, they were in no position to do anything about it. This distressed Yamaki to the point where he took a week off from teaching to find a way to deal with the situation. Riley was the first to hear from him and he had asked her and Talley to meet him at the usual rendezvous point.

The computer lab was dark, as it usually was for one of these meetings. Riley was about to turn the lights on, but Talley knew better. She had almost forgotten that Riley hadn't been to the usual rendezvous point, so she simply grabbed her colleague's wrist and shook her head. The lights stayed off and the two female agents simply waited. Sure enough, Yamaki turned on the lamp as the dark computer lab illuminated ever-so-slightly.

"I'm glad you could make it, ladies. I hope you've had a pleasant week."

"It's good to see you again, sir," Riley said. "How was your brief leave of absence?"

Yamaki smiled. "I'm happy to say my time off turned out to be very productive. And I'm pleased to say that an incident like last week will not be repeated."

"I sure hope not," Talley groaned. "Riley and I felt totally powerless. We're government agents, sir. It's not something we're used to."

"You'll be happy to know it won't be an issue much longer," Yamaki smirked. "Since the incident from last week, I've decided to bring back an old helper. An old tool. An ally that helped save this world before."

Talley gasped. "Sir? You don't mean…"

"That's right. I've reached some old contacts and they're currently working on restoring Operation: Juggernaut."

There was a hushed silence. The Juggernaut system played a big role in the D-Reaper's ultimate defeat. Of course, it took a lot of adjustments to the main program to make sure it was effective. More than that, it took a major sacrifice. All the Digimon in West Shinjuku had been sucked into the Digital World and all available access points to the Digital World were closed. The Digimon were unable to return until one of the Tamers found another path into the Digital World. But the fact remained that to restore the Juggernaut system would be a tremendous gamble. It had the potential to wipe out all Digimon.

"I don't know what to say," Riley finally said. "Are you sure this is the best course to take? This is extremely drastic, sir. If it goes anything like the last time we were forced to use Juggernaut, every Digimon in Odaiba could be forced back into the Digital World. And we don't know if any and all Digiports will be closed forever."

"It may be a risk we'll soon be forced to take," Yamaki replied. "There's a reason those wild Digimon are chasing the Kamiya girl. There's obviously more to her than we know or they wouldn't be going to so much effort to get her. I can only assume their intents are malicious and serve as nothing more than a threat to humanity and Digimon. If Operation: Juggernaut becomes our final option, I won't hesitate to use it."

Talley was bothered by something. "Sir…shouldn't we tell Izzy?"

"Absolutely not!" Yamaki answered. "We can't risk ANY security leaks, whatsoever! Operation: Juggernaut must be kept top secret at all costs. With the mole still out there, we cannot entrust this secret to ANYBODY!"

"But we can trust Izzy!" Talley protested.

"Not to ANYBODY!" Yamaki repeated. "That's an order, agent!"

Talley growled under her breath. Operation: Juggernaut was extremely dangerous and had the potential to wipe out many innocent Digimon in addition to the wild ones. Izzy needed to be aware of what was going on, but Talley wasn't about to disobey a direct order from her superior.

A little while later, once the meeting was over, Talley stormed out with Riley walking along behind her.

"What's with you?" Riley asked.

"I really feel Izzy needs to know what's going on," Talley sighed.

"You sound like you're really concerning yourself with this guy," Riley noted. "It's like you've got a thing for him or something."

Talley groaned. "Why does everybody keep saying that?!"

She had already heard that ridiculous assumption from Yamaki. Talley didn't need to hear it from her partner and closest friend. Her relationship to Izzy was strictly that of teacher and her aide.

There was nothing else going on. At least that's what she would continue telling herself.

* * *

Back in his room, Takato already had about five strips done. It was almost a week's worth of work. He was that excited about this new endeavor. And he definitely had more ideas in store. Although there were some that were inevitably bound to not reach the high expectations of the Dragon Daily. For that, Takato had to have a pre-reader to read his work. Luckily, a couple of pre-readers wouldn't be difficult to find. In fact, they were reading over some of Takato's work at that moment.

They were actually still laughing over what they were seeing.

"This has got to be one of the funniest things I've ever read!" Terriermon laughed.

"It's really funny!" Guilmon added.

"I can't believe this is all based on that goof, Davis," Terriermon grinned.

Henry, who was sitting on his bed reading for his next class, shook his head. "Takato, how long do you think it'll take Davis to figure out that Goggle Man is based on him?"

"Henry, I doubt Davis even READS the Dragon Daily," Takato answered. "Besides, I'm not actually going out there and SAYING this is based on Davis. I'll bet nobody else even notices." Takato started biting his eraser and thinking. "Uh…you don't think Davis is coming in anytime soon, do you? You know how he never likes to knock."

"Nah, I don't think he's coming in anytime soon. Kazu and Kenta said something about Davis having to go through another initiation ritual at the frat house. If it's anything like the last one, I feel sorry for him."

That piqued Takato's curiosity. "What was his last initiation ritual?"

"He went skydiving with an 'I 3 Alpha Zeta' banner on his back. I remember hearing that Davis parachuted right into a tree."

Takato chuckled. "That's good stuff. I'll have to remember that one. Uh…you said Davis has ANOTHER initiation ritual like that coming up? Do you think it might be anything like the last one?"

"Knowing Davis…probably."

Takato thought about that. This would make for a great source of inspiration. He knew where the frat house was. This would be a great opportunity.

Takato got his goggles and his jacket. "Uh…I almost forgot I have something to do. Can you guys keep reading my stuff?"

Terriermon made an affirmative gesture with his ear. "Yeah, you bet! This is better than Peanuts!"

"That reminds me," Guilmon mused. "I'm hungry."

Terriermon sweatdropped. "I'm sorry I said that."

Takato didn't waste anymore time in running out the door. If it was true that Davis was about to start his next initiation ritual, he didn't have any time to waste.

* * *

A week had passed and that meant it was time for Davis to move onto his next initiation ritual. Although Kazu and Kenta had both backed out on their initiation, Davis was still standing. Not only that, but he was more than willing to go on. And he also had another supporter by his side.

Davis left his supported by the door where he couldn't be seen. "Wait here."

"You got it, Davish."

Leaving Veemon waiting outside, Davis wandered into the frat house. The time was finally here for him to get what he needed for next initiation ritual. He walked into frat house, which was empty with the exception of the usual suspects. They were anticipating Davis's arrival. And it didn't take the two long to hand him his materials.

The bulkier buzzcut tossed Davis the Alpha Zeta sweater along with several articles of clothing that were colored Alpha Zeta colors. Davis went into the nearby closet and changed into the clothes he was given. Once he walked out of the closet, he was met by the ponytail, who quickly handed Davis a giant sign. The sign was pro-Alpha Zeta.

"I trust you remember what you're supposed to do?" the buzzcut asked.

Davis nodded…and gulped. "Yeah."

The ponytail started nudging Davis out the door. "That's good. Now get out there and make us proud. Show us you're TOTALLY Alpha Zeta material."

Davis didn't want to think he intentionally went out there looking for disaster. But somehow, he knew this wouldn't lead to any good. Of course, to get into the frat, he had to do what he was told. He knew it would be worth it in the end.

Davis walked out of the frat house and closed the door behind him. Little Veemon came following behind once he started walking back to the car.

"NOW can you tell me what you have to do, Davish?" the little blue Digimon asked.

Davis sighed. "Ok…"

* * *

Takato waited outside the frat house, lurking behind a bush. It didn't take long for Davis to come back out, this time with a new set of clothes and a huge pro-Alpha Zeta sign. Takato didn't know what it was all for, but he hoped it would lead to something disastrous.

When Davis stepped into his car, Takato reached for his bike. He got ready to pedal fast once the car started driving off. Takato kept his distance, but managed to keep a good view of the car.

Although Takato tried to keep pace, he managed to run into some trouble when he saw a crowd of people on the sidewalk. There was a line, but it was starting to move fast. It was looking like a nightclub had just opened its doors and was beginning to let people in. There was hardly a parking space to be found, but Davis was persistent. He finally found a 'compact' parking space to place his Honda.

Takato kept his distance while Davis got out of his car. The DigiDestined leader grabbed his sign and walked towards the club. Takato closely followed with his own weapons of choice, his sketchpad and a pencil.

Davis didn't go to the front entrance, however. Instead, he started climbing into the club through an open window at the side of the building. Takato began to wonder exactly what was going on. Then it hit him like a ton of bricks.

This nightclub was the site of a huge part for Beta Phi, a rival fraternity. That's when Takato started to get a sinking feeling. He started to fear for his friend…and then he realized how much material this could give him.

Sure enough, when Davis climbed in through the window, he immediately started making trouble. Takato wanted to get a bird's-eye view, so he walked over to the window and held up his sketchpad and pencil.

Davis began his ruckus. "Alpha Zeta, we're the best! Beta Phi just makes us retch!"

The music that was blaring through the club a second ago suddenly died and everything got so quiet you could hear a pin drop. The blank expression on Davis's face was priceless. Takato made sure to draw every detail.

Things didn't get any better for the wannabe Alpha. A number of guys in blue Beta Phi sweaters were coming out of the woodwork and slowly advancing on Davis. Davis grinned sheepishly and started stepping back.

Once the Betas reached Davis, things started getting ugly. While the frat brothers started pounding on Davis, Takato drew every little feature. Of course, he made sure to put in some extra features like random 'POW', 'SOCK', 'THWACK' and 'BAM' clouds to add to the action. While it looked like Davis would come back with a lot of bruises from this venture, Takato would be coming back with enough material to last for weeks.

Takato snickered under his breath. "And thank you, Goggle Man."

Takato kept drawing as Davis kept getting pummeled. What he didn't see was that someone was behind him.

"Takato?"

Takato turned around and saw an unexpected visitor. "Veemon?"

Veemon walked towards the window. "It sounds like a kung fu movie in there. What are you doing here?"

"Uh…"

"What's that in your hand?"

Takato nearly panicked when Veemon caught his sketchpad. He only made it worse when he dropped it to the floor. Veemon bent down and picked it up. Takato gulped as Veemon took a peek at what he was drawing.

Veemon started laughing. "Hey, this is pretty funny! And…ooh! This looks a lot like Davish."

Veemon was exactly the sharpest of all the Digimon but it didn't take him long to figure everything out. He looked at the sketchpad…and then inside the club, at the scene of Davis being tossed around like a sack of potatoes by the Betas. He looked at the sketchpad…then looked inside the club…then back at the sketchpad…then back at the club.

"Hmm…this guy in the drawings looks a lot like Davish."

Takato chuckled nervously. "What makes you think that?"

Veemon looked back into the club and back at the sketchpad. "Takato…are you drawing Davish?"

"Uh…I'm not drawing…Davis…I'm just…getting ideas from him. Davis is inspiring me. I couldn't do this without him."

"Ooh! I'll bet he'll be happy to hear that!"

"Uh…you know what would make him even happier, Veemon?" Takato backtracked. "If he doesn't hear about any of this. It'll make Davis feel a lot better to see all this for himself and…uh…be surprised."

Veemon gave Takato a sly look. "You don't want Davish to find out about this, do you?"

Takato knew when he was beaten. "What'll it take to ensure your silence?"

Veemon smiled his trademark carefree smile. "I want in!"

"Huh?"

"I want in! Can you draw me too?"

It was an unusual proposition. Takato didn't expect anybody to actually WANT to be included in his comic. But he saw that eager, almost dopey, smile on Veemon's face. He really wanted this. And once he thought about it, it didn't sound like such a bad idea.

"Hmm…I think Goggle Man could use a sidekick. Ok, you're in."

"Alright! I can't wait! Too bad I can't tell Davish. Uh…"

In their negotiation, Takato and Veemon had completely forgotten about Davis. They both peeked into the window to see the Betas had finished wailing away on him and started carrying him to the front door.

"Get out of here!"

"Stay out, Alpha!"

"Come back again and we'll beat you some more!"

"AAAAHH!!"

Takato and Veemon ran towards the corner just in time to see Davis get tossed like a javelin out of the club. He landed on his face on the ground, looking a little worse for the wear.

Veemon blinked. "I think that's my cue."

"Remember…you never saw me here," Takato noted.

"Gotcha."

As soon as the doors were closed again, Veemon ran over to his partner, who was starting to shake off. Takato looked at his sketchpad and saw he had all the material he needed.

"Hey, I could make a 5-part special with this."

Takato couldn't believe how many pages he filled. He knew that Davis Motomiya would be a goldmine. He wasn't about to give this up anytime soon.

* * *

It was about midnight and the girls were all turning in, with the exception of Jeri, who had gone who-knows-where. Everybody in the room was asleep, with the exception of one who was a mischievous creature of the night, at least on this night he was.

Impmon was still wide-awake.

He hoped the rumors of a truce between Renamon and Gatomon were untrue, but there was no such luck. While Impmon could tolerate the humans getting chummy with one another, there was no way he'd let Renamon and Gatomon make up. Things were too much fun in the dorm and Impmon wasn't about to let the fun stop.

So he decided to take matters into his own hands. He walked over to the sleeping Gatomon, who was snoozing soundly on a pillow by the foot of Kari's bed. Impmon knew there was only one way to ensure this feud continues.

Knowing what needed to be done, Impmon took out a jar of honey…and a box of feathers…and got to work.

* * *

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!!"

The next morning, Gatomon got a rude awakening. As soon as she saw what was on her body, Gatomon quickly got up and rushed to a mirror. Indeed, she was covered in white feathers from head to toe. She was also covered in honey, ensuring the feathers would stick onto her body. Her scream wasn't enough to wake Kari, Rika, or Jeri, but it woke Calumon.

"How did that happen?" Calumon asked curiously. He was looking at the results of SOMEBODY'S handiwork. "Who would make you look like a chicken?"

"I wish I knew," Gatomon replied.

She didn't know why, but Gatomon's instincts were telling her that Renamon had something to do with this. The memories of the past were too much to put on the backburner, especially when something like this happened. So she decided to go check and see if Renamon had anything to do with this. When Gatomon found her supposed 'friend', her blood boiled.

Renamon was sleeping by the bookshelf…with an empty bottle of honey in her arms. That wasn't all she had in her arms. Renamon also had several pictures. Gatomon pulled them out and looked at them. They were all pictures of a sleeping Gatomon, covered in honey and then covered in honey and feathers. It was obvious to Gatomon who did this to her.

She didn't know how she would pay her back for this horrible stunt, but Gatomon knew how to get started. She walked over to the mini-fridge and pulled out a bottle of cold ice water. Once she had the ice water, Gatomon opened the bottle and poured it over her rival's head, giving Renamon a rude awakening of her own.

"AAH! GATOMON! What's the meaning of this?!"

"LOOK AT ME!!"

Renamon sat up and scoffed when she saw Gatomon. "Are you attempting a late Halloween costume?"

"You know you did this to me!" Gatomon cried. "I knew I couldn't trust you!"

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

"Don't act innocent! You know you did this to me!"

"Gatomon, I don't know what you're talking about. I didn't do anything."

Gatomon held up the evidence. "Does THIS look familiar?!"

Renamon eyed the bottle and shook her head. "I've never seen that before. I didn't even know we had honey in this room."

"Will you stop trying to deny it?! This is the worst thing you've done yet! I mean, at least you took credit for the other stunts you pulled! You're making this worse by lying about it!"

"But…"

"I'll get you for this, Foxy! I don't know how, but I'll get you back for this! Don't think for a SECOND you're getting away with this! Calumon, walk with me to the shower."

Calumon blinked. "Uh…what if someone sees us?"

"It's 6 in the morning. Nobody wakes up at this hour. Let's go."

"Uh…ok!"

The feathered Gatomon stormed out while Renamon continued to claim her innocence.

"But I didn't do anything!"

Gatomon couldn't believe Renamon wouldn't admit what she did. She knew she had to find a good way to get her back.

But first…she had to wash up.

* * *

Impmon feigned being asleep, but heard the whole argument between Gatomon and Renamon. He opened an eye and saw Gatomon storming off in a huff.

The mischievous Impmon felt proud of himself. At this rate, things would be back to normal in no time at all.

He hated to have to frame Renamon like that, but if Impmon was going to be surrounded by a pair of gushy-type friends, he'd go crazy. The only one he'd take that kind of madness from is Calumon.

No, things would be just fine and the fun would continue.

* * *

A couple of days later, Takato looked at the Dragon Daily and there it was. His comic was on the third page. And everywhere Takato went, people were laughing. They actually liked his comic strip. It appeared that 'The Adventures of Goggle Man' was a hit. By the time he got to the Dragon Daily offices, Takato had already been congratulated by several classmates on such a funny comic.

When Takato walked into the press room, Honda was looking through the paper…and he was also looking at Takato's comic.

"This is really good stuff," Honda chuckled. "Got anymore ready to go, Takato?"

"I've got plenty ready. In fact…I just got done with a couple of new ones a few nights ago that I think you'll really love!"

"If it's anything like what you've already given me, then I can't wait to see it! Great job, Takato! Expect your first paycheck next week."

That last part is what thrilled Takato more than anything. He was actually going to get paid…for doing what he loved to do. If that wasn't college, he didn't know what was.

"So what's next for Goggle Man, Takato?"

Takato thought about that. "Well…you'll just have to wait and see…"

  


Next Week: After another brutal initiation ritual, Davis is just hoping to see the homestretch. But he'll be surprised to learn that he's actually down to his LAST initiation ritual! Although the last one will be the HARDEST ONE OF THEM ALL! What is it? And will Davis be able to handle it? And will a nosy Takato get caught in the crossfire? Also, there's a retreat at an old familiar DigiDestined stomping ground. Students from Odaiba U will be volunteering to help out at the old camp site. However…among the volunteers are TK and Catherine. Will things get awkward? And is there more trouble looming on the horizon? Find out on the next Digimon: The College Years!

  


Any comments? Then mail me at AmericanCaptor@hotmail.com and don't forget to review below!


	28. RAID!

Last Week: Takato was given a new opportunity to draw a comic for the school paper, the Dragon Daily. There was something he was missing, however, and that was inspiration. But that problem was quickly solved when he spied Davis. Thus, Goggle Man was born. Renamon and Gatomon were both shocked to see Rika and Kari had become friends and, with a little coaxing from her friends, decided to put aside their grudge once and for all. But an intervention from Impmon put an end to that. Once Gatomon was covered in honey and feathers, the feud was on again. Yamaki informed Riley and Talley that Hypnos would take a drastic new direction in stopping the rogue Digimon infiltrating the real world. Operation: Juggernaut is about to be resurrected, but Talley is afraid of the results it might bring. Davis took Veemon along for his next initiation ritual. He walked into a club with Alpha Zeta colors and a large pro-Alpha Zeta sign…full of rival frat brothers. While Davis was busy getting pummeled, Takato got some more inspiration and began drawing the details, but ran into Veemon…who offered his silence in exchange for a part in Takato's comic.

  


**Digimon: The College Years**

Episode 28- RAID!

  


TK couldn't believe what he was seeing. "Davis…are you sure you don't need anymore ice for that?"

Davis put another block of ice on his shoulder. "No, I'm ok. I was able to pop my shoulder back in and I honestly don't think you can notice any of the bruises."

Veemon turned to Patamon. "I thought I understood everything about humans. But this whole concept of a fraternity is just too…weird."

"No kidding," Patamon replied. "Nothing like that ever happens in the Digital World."

"I don't know," Wormmon mused. "I've heard rumors about the Gazimon."

Veemon sounded fascinated. "Really? The Gazimon?"

Ken, sitting on his bed, just examined his battered friend. "Davis, just what exactly was the point of you walking into a Beta party sporting Alpha colors?"

"It was a test of my loyalty," Davis answered. "I had to show that I was willing to do anything for the frat. I think I made the guys proud."

TK was happy he wasn't getting himself involved in something so crazy. He urged Davis repeatedly to think about what he was putting himself through for that fraternity, but Davis was being bullheaded. TK knew there was no convincing Davis on this one. He would have to learn for himself

"I just hope you're done with all that," TK muttered. "You're honestly lucky to be in one piece after some of the things they've put you through."

"I'm not done yet," Davis responded. "There's still more for me to do. And trust me, it'll all be worth it when it's over."

TK couldn't believe what he was hearing. He knew Davis could be stubborn, but he had no idea. He just wondered what more Davis could possibly do to help his cause.

Before TK could even ask, someone knocked on the door. Eager for visitors, Ken got up and answered the door. It was Joe, holding up Gomamon as he always did when he walked around campus.

"Hey guys, I was hoping to find you all here," Joe said. "I wanted to talk to you guys about an interesting opportunity."

Ken closed the door so that Gomamon could drop his stuffed animal act. Joe put him down and he flopped a few paces forward.

"What's going on, Joe?" TK asked.

"Well, there's some part-time volunteer work available this weekend. I was wondering you guys were curious in a little…camp counseling?"

Davis thought about that. "I don't know. I might have to do some stuff for the frat."

"I may be a little busy this weekend," Ken added. "Sorry, Joe."

Joe walked over to TK. "I was especially hoping you'd help out, TK. We're not just going to ANY campsite."

TK didn't comprehend it at first. "No? What do you mean?"

Joe raised an eyebrow. "TK…"

TK's eyes widened. "Joe…you mean…? NO WAY!"

Joe nodded. "It'll bring back a lot of memories for me, too. So what do you say? Up for some camp counseling? We could use the help."

"Who else is going?"

"Well, so far it's just me and Izzy since Tai, Matt, Sora, and Mimi are all busy being RA's. But I'm sure it won't be just us. The sign-up sheet's out there for volunteers. In fact, we've already got Kazu, Kenta, and Jeri. You want to join us?"

Gomamon moved towards TK. "Yeah, TK. Say you'll do it!"

It didn't take long for TK to agree. "Sounds great! I'm in!"

Joe picked up Gomamon. "Alright! We'll meet in front of campus this Friday and wait for the busses to arrive. From there, we're off to the old campsite. I'll see you there."

As Joe started leaving, TK began to think about the old days. He still remembered that day ten years ago when he taken from that campsite to the Digital World. It was a day that changed his life forever. He looked over at Patamon, the big change in his life since then.

TK smiled. "So what do you say, Patamon? Want to go back?"

* * *

If there was one thing Puppetmon was starting to notice about the underground Server base, it was the sudden increase in space. Just about every single servant Digimon was either gone, defeated by the DigiDestined and the Tamers, or wiped out by an overzealous ChaosGallantmon or even by Puppetmon, himself. There were no minions remaining.

"I notice we're a little shorthanded these days," Puppetmon said dryly.

"I'd like to think that all the casualties haven't been in vain," Datamon muttered back. "I'd like to think that I've made at least SOME headway in bringing the Dark One here, but I have NOTHING! It would be so much easier to bring the DigiDestined of Light here, but I'm surrounded by INCOMPETENTS! What else can I do?!"

"I can tell you."

Puppetmon turned around sneered. "Oh, are you still around?"

The Digimon Empress, who had just arrived, chuckled. "Have you completely forgotten what I bring to the table? What if I said I have some information you can use?"

"That's what you're here for," Datamon noted. "What have you discovered, my pretty?"

"There's a retreat this weekend in Odaiba. It's at an old campsite. Many of the DigiDestined and the Tamers will be there. Whether that Kari will be there, that I'm not so sure of. But even if she isn't, this is a good chance to take some of them out now and put the odds in our favor."

"A campsite," Datamon mused. "You still know how to serve us well."

"But the wooden wonder makes a good point," The Digimon Empress continued. "We're seriously understaffed at this point."

"That's where we use our ace in the hole," Datamon pointed out. "What about ChaosGallantmon?"

"Forget the tin man," Puppetmon cut in. "I've got someone who'd be more than happy to help us. And if they're really in a campsite, that means they've got a lake. And if they've got a lake…ooh, this'll be fun!"

Puppetmon rushed eagerly to Datamon's supercomputer. He quickly punched in the coordinates he needed to contact a good friend of his. Soon, a large body of water was shown on the screen. Seconds later, a large sea serpent rose from the water, creating great waves around him.

"I don't usually take house calls at this hour," the serpent said. "Who's calling?"

The Digimon Empress's eyes widened. "MetalSeadramon?!"

Puppetmon cackled. "Not exactly. This is a close relative of his. Meet ChaosSeadramon!"

Although he looked much like his metallic counterpart, ChaosSeadramon was glowing neon blue. He was the corrupted form of MetalSeadramon. But the differences ended there. He looked just as fearsome and villainous as the departed Dark Master.

"That sounds like my old buddy, Puppetmon," ChaosSeadramon chuckled. "What can I do for you?"

Puppetmon smirked evilly. "Hey, ChaosSeadramon…how does a little revenge sound to you?"

"Revenge? I like the sound of that! But there are a lot of guys who I'm looking to get revenge on. I still owe YOU revenge for that last poker game."

"I'm talking about the DigiDestined," Puppetmon clarified.

"The DigiDestined?!" ChaosSeadramon repeated. "I've been waiting for a shot at them since they took out my cousin! I'll make them pay! What do you want me to do, Puppetmon?"

"Just sit tight. We'll bring you to them."

The Digimon Empress scoffed. "I don't see what the Chicken of the Sea here has that ChaosGallantmon doesn't."

"That tin can doesn't have what it takes," Puppetmon said bluntly.

"He's dominated the DigiDestined and the Tamers every time he's encountered them! What else can he do?!"

"He can obey us when we call him!" Puppetmon shot back. "Instead, he doesn't listen and he plays his own game…like YOU!"

"That's the best part about him," The Digimon Empress smirked.

"Yeah, well don't think I'll be putting up with his or YOUR attitude much longer," Puppetmon threatened. He held up his hammer. "You two had better remember who's in charge around here!"

The Digimon Empress laughed. She turned around and started walking out. "And YOU'D better remember: ChaosGallantmon obeys ME and ONLY ME!"

It was times like this that Puppetmon wished he had a Digimon to take out his frustrations on, but there weren't any left in the base.

"I'm getting sick of her, Datamon! And she's got too much spunk! Are you SURE we still have control of her?! Sometimes I get the feeling that she'll sic that overgrown soda can on us."

"Absolutely," Datamon answered. "The Dark Spore is still inside her, so that leaves US in control." Datamon grabbed an injector needle from the top of his supercomputer and held it up. "In case she's forgotten, we hold ALL the cards!"

Puppetmon saw the needle in Datamon's hand and chuckled evilly. He couldn't believe he had forgotten.

The Digimon Empress wouldn't dare defy them. Otherwise, she would pay with her life.

* * *

Only a few days after the last initiation ritual, Davis couldn't believe he was already being called back to the frat house. He had barely recovered from the last one. At this point, Davis was just happy to be in one piece after the whole fiasco with the Betas.

"Davish, what do you think they'll make you do next?" Veemon asked, as he tried to keep up with his partner.

Davis didn't even know how to answer that question. He was convinced that they would make him do anything at this point. But as long as Davis wasn't subjected to much more bodily harm, he wouldn't have any problem with anything.

"Not much more, hopefully," Davis answered.

Davis left Veemon outside while he walked into the frat house. At this point, he knew the routine, so he walked over to find the usual frat boys sitting in the lounge having some drinks.

"Ok, guys," Davis sighed. "I'm here. What do you want me to do?"

"You know, you've been our most dedicated pledge to date," the ponytail said. "I haven't seen anybody with your drive and determination in a long time. That's exactly what we're looking for in a brother, Dale."

"Davis."

"Whatever. That's why I've got some good news for you. This will be your LAST initiation ritual."

Davis couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Uh…my LAST initiation ritual?" It sounded almost too good to be true. "As in, no more initiation rituals after this one?"

"Are you happy about that?" the buzzcut asked, preparing the ice water.

Davis gulped. "Uh…DARN! No more initiation rituals! They were so much fun!"

"We know how sad that makes you, so we've saved up the best for last," the ponytail grinned. "Now let me tell you about my day yesterday, Dayton."

"Davis."

"Whatever. Now…I'm walking through campus yesterday, minding my own business, when I come across this pretty young thing in a white halter top and short pink skirt. I'm talking TOTALLY hot! So I walk over to her and get ready to work my awesome frat boy charm. I deliver this awesome pickup line. What did I say to her?"

The buzzcut calmly cleared his throat. "I believe you asked her 'If I said you had a nice body, would you hold it against me?'"

The ponytail cackled. "Yeah, it was TOTALLY awesome! But get this, for some reason, she gets really mad. Go figure! So she slaps me across the face. Can you believe that?"

Davis sweatdropped. "Uh…"

"Yeah, I can't believe it, either," the ponytail continued. "I mean, who is she to slap an awesome guy like me? I mean, I'm an Alpha! Nobody slaps an Alpha! So anyway, she's about to leave, but before she does, she puts on this sweater. She's a sorority girl! She's a Delta Gamma. And then, I get this totally awesome idea!"

"This leads to your final initiation ritual," the buzzcut cut in. "Here's what we want you to do."

The ponytail chuckled. "For your final initiation ritual, you're going to get revenge on Delta Gamma on behalf of Alpha Zeta. You're going to avenge the honor of your fraternity. You're going to make their entire sorority pay the consequences for their boldness."

"How am I going to do that?" Davis asked curiously.

The ponytail and the buzzcut exchanged wry grins before turning to Davis.

"PANTY RAID!!"

Davis sweatdropped again. "Uh…what?"

"I can't think of anything more traditional for frats the world over than the conventional panty raid," the ponytail explained. "It's a tradition as old as the ORIGINAL Greeks. And believe me, those girls TOTALLY have it coming! So what you're going to do…is break into the Delta Gamma sorority house and grab every pair of panties in that house."

"The ones that aren't being currently worn, anyway," the buzzcut interrupted.

"And you're going to bring them all back here," the ponytail finished. "We'll figure out what to do with them from there, but trust me, we'll make sure it's plenty humiliating. It'll TOTALLY teach those girls a lesson!"

Davis gulped. "Um…guys? What if I get caught?"

The buzzcut poured ice water over Davis's head. "What kind of question is that?!"

The ponytail sighed. "Here's my advice to you, Darren…"

"Davis."

"Whatever. My advice to you is…DON'T get caught! I heard those girls can get pretty feisty."

"You should know," the buzzcut scoffed. "That last one got pretty feisty on your face."

"She is SO going to pay for that!" the ponytail growled. "Her AND her sorority! That's why we have pledges!" He put his hand on Davis's shoulder. "You know what you have to do. And if you do this right, then you're done! Do this final task right and there will be no more initiation rituals and you'll be an Alpha Zeta for life!"

That was something Davis had been waiting to hear for a long time. He couldn't believe it was almost over.

The hulked buzzcut started pushing Davis towards the door. "But until then, you're still a pledge. Now get going!"

Davis was shoved out the door and out to the front porch. Once the door was shut, Veemon came out from his hiding place to join his partner.

"So what's up, Davish?"

Although the final initiation ritual would prove to be potentially dangerous, Davis kept his head up and looked at the biggest positive aspect of what was coming up.

"I'm almost in!"

* * *

After feeling like things had gotten so much better these past few weeks, Kari was watching things fall apart again. Not between herself and Rika, of course. They were still good friends and growing closer by the day. In fact, Kari was sorry to see Rika leave for the weekend.

"So you'll be coming back soon?" Kari asked.

"I'm only going to the Delta Gamma house for the weekend," Rika replied. She chuckled and put on another rare smile. "I know you won't miss me THAT much."

Rika was hard at work packing up for her weekend at the sorority house. Kari had never seen Rika happier than when she made it into Delta Gamma. And Kari knew that if it helped bridge the gap between the two, then it was more than worth sacrificing her own opportunity to get in. Things weren't about to fall apart between Kari and Rika and that wasn't why Kari was fretting.

No, things were falling apart with Gatomon and Renamon. After they had seemingly put aside their grudge, they were suddenly at each other's throats again. Kari couldn't understand why. Neither one of them would talk about it, nor would they talk to each other. Kari and Rika weren't the only ones bothered by this. Calumon looked to have resumed his role as peacemaker.

"Come on, Renamon. What happened to you and Gatomon at least trying to be friends?"

"That's all out the window," Renamon answered, as she reached for a nearby sandwich. "I can't believe that furball had the gall to call me a liar! You've known me for years, Calumon. I have always been a mon of my word."

"You've never lied to anybody before, Renamon. So what do you think happened?"

Renamon thought about that. "Hmm…I know the cat's always hated me, but I don't think she'd do that to HERSELF just to make me look bad." She took a bite of her sandwich. "It must be something else." She took another bite. "It…mmmmph…mmmm…mmph…mmm. Mmm? Mmmph! MMM! MMMPH!"

Calumon tilted his head. "Uh…say that again?"

"MMMMPH! MMMM! MMMM-MMMPH!"

Calumon's ears shrunk. "Renamon, what's the matter?"

Renamon pointed at her mouth. "MMM! MMMPH! MMMMMMMMPH!"

"I can't hear you, Renamon. What's the matter?"

Renamon was suddenly silent. Whatever words came out of her mouth were garbled. Renamon looked around frantically before walking over to Rika. She groaned inaudibly while pointing to her mouth.

Rika didn't even turn around. She was still packing. "Renamon, you'll have to speak up."

"MMM! MMMMMMPH! MMMMMMMMMMMMMPH!!!"

"Renamon, I can't understand a word you're saying."

Renamon slapped her forehead before heading to the foot of Rika's bed, where Impmon was lying down lazily. She nudged him in the head with her foot, waking the purple miscreant.

"Huh? What's goin on?"

"MMM! MM-MM-MMMM-MMM-MMMPH! MMMMPH!"

Impmon smirked. "What was dat? I can't understand a word."

**"MMMMMMMMMMMPPPPPPPHHHHH!!!"**

Impmon scratched his chin. "Gee, I wonder whatever could be wrong? Hey, here's an idea! Hey Renamon, let me see that sandwich you got in your hand."

Renamon handed Impmon her sandwich. Impmon opened the sandwich and revealed a white substance that didn't look anything like mayonnaise.

"Look at this. Looks like GLUE to me."

Kari was watching the scene unfold with increasing curiosity. Impmon started walking towards Gatomon's litter box, where the champion feline was sound asleep. He reached behind the little box…and pulled out a jar of glue. The jar was empty.

"Hey, look what I found," Impmon smirked.

"MMM?"

Renamon stomped towards the litter box. In a fury, Renamon turned the litter box upside-down. Gatomon fell on her stomach and the box, along with all the kitty litter, landed right on top of her.

"HEY!" she yelled. Gatomon stuck her head out from underneath the box and glowered. "What's the big idea, Renamon?!"

Renamon pointed at her mouth. "MMMPH! MMM! MMMMPH! MMMMM!"

"What? I can't understand you!"

Renamon decided to speak a more universal language. She picked up the litter box and clocked Gatomon over the head with it. She hit her so hard that the box was bent.

"OW! What was that for?!"

"Why'd you do it, Gatomon?" Calumon asked sadly.

"Do what?!" Gatomon demanded, as she rubbed her head painfully. "What did I do?"

"The evidence points to you," Impmon clarified. He held up the empty glue jar. "You stuck glue in Renamon's sandwich and now look at her. I believe that says a mouthful."

"Huh? I didn't do that," Gatomon said defensively. "You've got to believe me!"

Renamon took both halves of her sandwich and smeared them on Gatomon's face before walking away.

"I'm guessing that means you don't believe me," Gatomon muttered dryly.

Kari shifted her eyes. There was something that stunk about this whole thing. She was starting to get a feeling that something funny was going on.

* * *

"Well, I guess we could find a more awkward place to meet if we tried."

Matt made sure to note his displeasure over the latest meeting place for the older DigiDestined. But there was no arguing with Tai, especially when he put his mind to something. Thus, they were all meeting over in an empty garage.

"Does anybody want to fill us in as to why we're meeting here?" Mimi asked. "This place is so grimy. And I think I got motor oil on my blouse!"

Palmon sniffed around. "Smells like gasoline."

"I smell that every time Sora fills up her car," Biyomon added. "It's one of those guilty pleasures." 

"Ooh! I know exactly what you mean!" Palmon grinned. "But just don't smear me with any of it. It's bad for my leaves."

Tai pulled out a pile of scraps and something vaguely familiar into the garage. "Sorry about this, guys. This is the only place I could fix up my motorcycle."

Matt got steamed. "Tai, you brought us here so you could fix your stupid motorcycle?!"

"I thought Mephistomon totaled it," Sora, wearing a baseball cap to cover her head, thought.

Tai nodded. "It's busted up pretty bad, but you know what they say. If it's broke, fix it."

"I'd like to think we're all meeting for a reason OTHER than Tai's deathtrap on wheels," Joe noted. "What are we doing here?"

"I'll tell you what we're doing here," Tai began. "I'm getting tired of getting by purely on rumors! I've heard vague theories, rumors, and all that about moles and Digimon Empresses and evil Digimon all over the place! But these guys are starting to go after my little sister and I want answers! Does ANYBODY have an idea what the heck's going on?!"

For that, all eyes turned to one person. Everybody looked at Izzy.

"Everybody always seems to think *I* know everything," Izzy sighed.

"That's because you usually DO know everything, Izzy," Mimi pointed out.

"Well…I don't know anything beyond what I've already told you guys."

"I don't believe that!" Sora suddenly said.

Izzy didn't expect that. "Uh…what?"

"Izzy…you may be the one who told us that the mole is from our school…but how exactly DID you find that out?"

Izzy started stammering. He didn't know how to answer that. Matt saw Tai starting to inch closer to Izzy.

"Izzy…what do you know?" Tai demanded.

Izzy started taking a few steps back. "Tai…I've told you guys what I know."

Tai grabbed Izzy by the shirt and lifted him up. "Izzy!"

"Tai…I promised I wouldn't say anything…"

Tai slammed Izzy's back against the garage wall. "You DO know something! What do you know?! Tell us…NOW!"

"Tai, I made a promise!"

"Those Digimon and that mole are after MY SISTER! You'd better tell me what you know right now, or so help me…"

Matt knew things were getting bad, so he quickly stepped up and separated Tai and Izzy. "Tai, calm down! I know how you feel! If it was TK, I'd do the same thing! But let's give Izzy a chance here." He turned around and stared down his friend. "Izzy, we're going to give you a chance. Tell us what's going on, or I won't hold Tai back."

Izzy hesitated. It was obvious he was keeping a big secret from everybody else. After about a minute of silence, Matt started to step back and Tai was moving forward. That's when Izzy finally cracked.

"OK! I DO know something!"

"Izzy, we promised!" Tentomon shouted.

"I can't keep it a secret, Tentomon! Tai's right. The time for keeping secrets isn't now. I have to talk!"

"Then you'd better start talking," Tai snarled.

"T-T-There are…government agents at the school!" Izzy shouted. "Three of them! And they're all working undercover as professors!"

"Government agents?" Joe repeated. "Why would there be government at our school?"

"Because they've been observing the Digimon," Izzy explained. "The leader's been watching the Digimon since the Highton View Terrace incident. They were the first to learn about the mole and they've gone undercover in hopes of flushing whoever it is out."

"How did you find out about them?" Mimi asked.

"I'm a Teacher's Aide for one of them. She saw me as a suspect when she saw me carrying Tentomon around everywhere. But after I saved her at the homecoming game, she confided in me with her secret. I offered to help, but they wanted my silence. They were afraid word would start to spread around campus."

"What do they take us for? Gossips?" Mimi huffed.

"I never wanted to reveal their secret. I promised them I wouldn't tell anybody. But I also knew we could help better than anybody else. So I told you guys what I knew…without revealing where I got my information. At least I did until now."

Matt couldn't believe all he was hearing. It was right in his own college campus and he didn't even see that agents were working undercover. It was mind-boggling.

"What are their names, Izzy?" Joe asked.

"Talley Onodera, Riley Ootori, and their superior, Mitsuo Yamaki."

Tai clenched his fist. "These guys could still be hiding something. I want answers. And I think this Yamaki guy could give them to me."

"Tai, what are you suggesting?" Izzy asked nervously.

"I'm going to see this guy! And I'm going to demand he tell me everything he knows!"

Izzy was ready to protest, but when Tai shot him a death glare, he flinched and held his tongue. Sora inched over and nudged Matt in the ribs. Matt knew what she was thinking. This was Tai acting rashly again. He had a tendency to do that, especially when it came to being a protective big brother. He was likely to get himself in a lot of trouble if someone wasn't there to help him keep his temper.

"Uh…I'll go with you, Tai. This guy will be more likely to listen to two of us than just you."

Tai nodded. "Alright, you can come with me. We'll see him right now."

"I don't think he's there," Izzy said. "It's not easy to just reach Yamaki. Even *I* have to make an appointment."

"Then we'll keep looking until we find him," Tai grumbled.

All of this was starting to overwhelm Matt, so he just stepped outside. He couldn't believe all that was going on. But he wouldn't get much of a chance to get some air on his own, because someone was walking along right behind him.

"Matt, are you ok?"

Matt turned around. "Can't I get even a minute of alone time, Sora?"

"Not this time, Matt, because I know something's bothering you. And you promised you'd be more open with me."

Matt shook his head. "Sora…doesn't this all feel like it's too much?"

"What do you mean?"

Matt briefly paused. "Do you remember what I wanted more than anything? I wanted to give humans and Digimon a chance to live together. I wanted there to be a day where the Digimon can show themselves again without the world hiding. And look what's happened!

"Somebody's bringing out evil Digimon and bringing back bad memories of Highton View Terrace and Myotismon! And now even the GOVERNMENT'S getting involved! I just wish this wasn't so hard! Instead of things getting easier with time, it just gets more difficult."

Sora held Matt's hand. "You can't give up, Matt. Take an example from your brother and don't lose hope. Go see this Yamaki guy. Maybe we can all help each other."

Somehow, Matt knew it couldn't be that easy. After everything that had happened in all their lives, there was no way anything could ever be that easy.

* * *

That night, Takato sat in his room and made another sketch. Thus far, the comic within the Dragon Daily was becoming very popular. By some miracle, Davis hadn't found out about it yet, but that didn't mean he wasn't getting subtle hints. Whenever he saw Davis walk around campus, Takato noticed people stare at him. Takato got the feeling that others were starting to see the similarities between Goggle Man and Davis Motomiya.

While Takato kept sketching, there was a knock at his door.

"Come in!"

The door opened. Kazu and Kenta walked in and, without even saying anything, curiously looked over Takato's shoulder.

Takato sweatdropped. "Uh…is there something I can help you guys with?"

"We came for a few things," Kazu replied. "But as long as we're here, we'll just get a quick sneak preview of Goggle Man's next adventure."

Takato turned his paper upside-down. "No sneak previews. What do you guys need?"

"Just a few supplies," Kenta answered. "We volunteered to help out this weekend at this campsite in Odaiba. So we just need a few things…and have you seen my old microphone?"

"NO!" Kazu snapped. "Don't even think about it! You can't make everybody suffer through your 'singing'! You'll humiliate us!"

"I've gotten better, Kazu. Check this out. Ahem…OH, I love the nightlife, I got to boogie on the disco 'round…!"

"Stop, stop, stop!" Kazu pleaded. "Stop the pain! I can hear the wolves howling now."

Kenta frowned. "Everybody's a critic."

Takato walked to a remote corner, not just to get away from Kenta's horrible singing, but also to resume his sketches. "Hey, guys? Have any of you seen Davis around?"

"We may have seen him once or twice," Kazu answered. "Why do you want to know?"

"I'm lacking some inspiration right about now," Takato sighed. "Do you guys know if Alpha Zeta has gotten in touch with him lately?"

"I'm not exactly sure on that one," Kazu sighed. "The farther away we get from that frat, the better. That whole thing was bad news."

Takato thought about who else he could get to help him out. He looked around his room and saw Guilmon and Terriermon both having some snacks. That's when it hit him. Takato did have an ace in the hole.

"Hey, guys? I'll…be right back."

"Kenta, I think that's our cue to exit."

Kazu and Kenta grabbed everything they needed and walked out. With the coast clear, Takato grabbed his sketchbook and walked towards the window. He would meet his underground contact at his window.

* * *

With everybody busy, TK decided to eat solo tonight. He walked out to the Den by himself and grabbed a hamburger. Walking through the many college students in the cafeteria, TK found himself a seat.

He started to wonder just how many memories the old campsite would bring back for him. It brought back memories of simpler days when TK first met Patamon and he saw the Digital World for the first time. It was a time of innocence. TK couldn't help but smile. He did a lot of growing up in the Digital World. He had matured into a brave young man there.

Once he finished up, TK walked back to the dorms. On his way, he passed by a bulletin post. On the post, TK saw a sheet of the names that had volunteered for work at the campsite this weekend. He scanned through each name carefully, but stopped when he saw one name in particular.

"TK?"

TK heard that voice. He turned around slowly, knowing who stood behind him. "Hi, Catherine."

Catherine walked up to TK sadly. "You haven't returned any of my calls."

"I've been busy," TK lied. "I'm sorry."

Catherine smiled. "TK…you know, we're both going to volunteer this weekend. I hope I get to see you again."

TK shook his head. "Catherine…"

Catherine kissed TK on the cheek. "I'd better go. But I will see you this weekend. You can bet on it. You and I seriously need to talk."

TK wasn't exactly looking forward to it. It was pretty obvious that Catherine wasn't taking a hint. As she turned to walk away, TK couldn't help but be mesmerized by the way she walked. He didn't know why he ever said no to her in the first place.

"Hi, TK!"

TK was instantly brought back to Earth when he heard that voice. He turned his head just in time to see Kari walking by, holding her books in front of her chest like an innocent schoolgirl. It made TK's heart flutter, even months after they had broken up.

Then he saw her walk up to Davis, who was over by the library, and give him a kiss.

TK slapped himself in the temple and turned to walk away.

"What's the matter with me?"

* * *

Takato approached the window of his underground source. He tapped on the glass pane and waited for somebody to open it. The glass window opened up, but he didn't exactly get who he had in mind.

"Hey, Takato!" Patamon said cheerfully. "Don't you usually come in through the door?"

"Yeah…usually. But I need to talk to Veemon really quick. Is he there?"

"Oh, yeah. Veemon! Takato wants to talk to you!"

Patamon flew off while Veemon walked over and climbed out the window.

"Hey, Takato! How's my part coming along?"

Takato opened up his sketchbook and showed Veemon some preliminary sketches. While Takato had sketches of Goggle Man getting pummeled by a group of rival frat guys, he made sure to draw Goggle Man's good buddy looking in from outside. Takato had drawn a caricature of a certain little blue Digimon and made sure to add in a baseball cap and sunglasses.

"That's you," Takato pointed out. "And your name is Little Boy Blue."

Veemon marveled over the drawings. "Ooh! I like the way you caught my horn and my smile."

"And there's plenty more where that came from," Takato grinned. "I've got more ideas up my sleeve, but I was wondering, Veemon…have you seen Davis around anywhere? I was hoping for a little…inspiration, if you know what I mean."

Veemon scratched his noodle. "Hmm…Davish…Davish…where is Davish? Ooh, I remember! Davish said he'd be heading out for his last initiation ritual."

Takato frowned. "His LAST initiation ritual? Oh…um…that's good, I guess. But that probably means my inspiration well will run dry…at least for a while, anyway. So what does he have to do?"

Veemon kept his eye on the sketchbook as he answered. "Davish has to go to the Delta Gamma sorority house. He said something about the guys sending him on something called a 'panty raid'…or something like that."

Takato's hand nearly shivered in anticipation. The whole prospect of Davis…combined with a sorority…and the task of a panty raid sounded like it was a definite recipe for disaster. He knew he would be an idiot not to take advantage of this.

"W-W-Which way is the sorority house?" Takato asked calmly.

"Uh…I don't know about that one…"

Takato shrugged. "It's ok, Veemon. I think I know someone who might know the answer."

Takato picked up his sketchbook and dashed off. The night was still young and there would plenty of time for him to find Davis…and watch him meet up with disaster once again.

* * *

Kari was just about to walk into the dorm building, but an eager someone crashed into her. Both fell on their backsides while Kari dropped her books. The one who knocked her down scrambled to pick them up for her.

"I'm sorry, Kari," Takato said. "Let me help you with those."

"Thanks, Takato," Kari smiled, as Takato handed her books back to her.

"Hey, Kari? Uh…do you happen to know where the Delta Gamma house is?"

Kari nodded. "I was just there the other day. It's over that way. You can just walk straight off campus and take a right at the very next street corner. Keep going straight and you'll eventually hit it. You can't miss it."

"Thanks, Kari."

"Why do you ask?"

"Uh…no reason. I'll…see you around."

Kari waved as Takato quickly dashed it. She certainly found that strange. But she simply shrugged it off and went back to looking for her key. Of course, she was interrupted once more before she walked in. Someone else walked up to her.

"Hey, Kari."

Kari smiled when she heard that voice. She turned around and saw the confident smile of Ryo Akiyama. He was certainly a charming young man with cute looks to boot. She didn't understand why Rika was so cold to him.

"Hey, Ryo. How've you been?"

"I've been doing great. But I'd be doing even better if I could go up and see Rika. I wanted to congratulate her on getting into that sorority."

"Oh…well, Rika isn't here. She said something about staying at the Delta Gamma house this weekend with the sorority sisters."

"Really? Which way is it? Maybe I can surprise her."

"It's that way," Kari said again. "Just walk out of the university and take a right at the very next street corner. Keep going straight afterwards and you'll eventually make it. You can't miss it. Trust me."

Ryo smiled. "Thanks, Kari. Hey…you know, are we still on for…well…you know?"

Kari suddenly remembered. "Ah! Of course! Definitely! Just say that word and…we'll do it!"

"Thanks. I wish Rika could be more like you."

Kari smirked. "No, you don't."

"You're probably right," Ryo grinned. "I like Rika just the way she is. Thanks, Kari. I'll see you later."

"Bye, Ryo."

With no more interruptions, Kari put her focus back on getting to her room. She had a lot of plans this weekend to hopefully clear the name of her partner.

But then she thought about what happened these past few minutes. The sorority house seemed to be a very popular place tonight.

  


Next Week: The Delta Gamma sisters are about to receive a rude surprise when Davis arrives, on behalf of Alpha Zeta, for a panty raid! But the sisters have ONE guardian on that night and her name is Rika Nonaka! What'll happen if Davis gets caught? And what'll happen if certain innocents (Takato, Ryo) get caught in the crossfire? Meanwhile, the volunteers are heading out to the campsite to work for the weekend, but if you think it's all fun and games, you're mistaking. TK's ready to finally put his foot down with Catherine, but what'll happen when he gets interrupted by the sudden arrival of ChaosSeadramon? Find out on the next Digimon: The College Years!

  


Any comments? Then mail me at AmericanCaptor@hotmail.com and don't forget to review below!


	29. VictoRika's Secret 00 PG13 00

Last Week: Davis received his task for his final initiation ritual. Because Delta Gamma has dishonored the name of Alpha Zeta, Davis has been selected to go on a panty raid at the sorority house! What he doesn't know is that he won't be the only one there. Renamon was on the receiving end of a glue sandwich. When Impmon found an empty glue jar by Gatomon, Gatomon was on the receiving end of a litter box to the head. The older DigiDestined met up where Izzy was coaxed into revealing the secret of the undercover Hypnos agents. Tai is now determined to meet Yamaki personally, but Matt's tagging along to make sure Tai doesn't completely lose it. Takato was starting to run out of ideas for his comic strip, but a quick meeting with Veemon turned him towards the sorority house. Ryo's also heading to the sorority house, adding another combustible element to an already volatile mixture. Meanwhile, Joe has been gathering up volunteers for the weekend at the campsite. TK happily volunteered, but knew he was in for an awkward weekend when he found out that Catherine would also be going. The villains have also regrouped and have called upon the relative of a departed Dark Master. Puppetmon has called up ChaosSeadramon to infiltrate the real world while ChaosGallantmon remains on the sidelines. After another round of insubordination from The Digimon Empress, Datamon was quick to hold up an injector needle to show Puppetmon that they still held all the power.

  


**Digimon: The College Years**

Episode 29- Victo-Rika's Secret

  


It had been years since TK set foot on the soil of the old campsite. Not much had changed. The cabins were still up, the trees were still in one piece, and the canoes looked just as shoddy. TK stepped towards the wooden dock by the lake ahead of the other volunteers and heard the same creeks he did when he was eight.

"Nothing like the old campsite," TK smiled.

Kazu walked through the same dock, but took a wrong step and his right foot ended up plowing through right through two panels. "Uh…was your campsite ALWAYS this lovely?"

TK sweatdropped. "I guess not much has changed here."

Joe joined everybody on the dock, holding a stationary Gomamon. "Ok, volunteers! We're going to be joined here very soon by a number of young campers, so put on your best smiles!"

Everyone briefly hesitated before putting on wide grins. TK felt like his face could freeze like that if he wasn't careful, but it would please the kids and that was all that mattered.

"My face hurts," Kenta said through his grin.

"Ok, what does our schedule look like, Izzy?" Joe asked.

Izzy put Tentomon down and looked through his clipboards. "The busses with all the campers should arrive at 5 o'clock sharp."

Joe turned around and started leading everyone towards the entranceway. "Alright, everybody! Let's go meet the campers!"

Kenta leaned over to Kazu's ear. "You didn't actually go through with taking Guardromon apart, did you?"

"Kenta, what a dumb question. Of course I did! I wasn't about to leave him at the dorms over the weekend. All it took was a little bit of extra effort."

Everyone followed Joe's lead. TK looked behind his back to see that Catherine was staying close, thus setting the tone for what could turn out to be a very awkward weekend.

* * *

After camping out for the night, Davis woke up that morning and saw his target right in front of him. He saw the sorority house that belonged to Delta Gamma. He made sure to deck himself out in a black burglar's ensemble. He was wearing nothing but black for this task, with the ever-recognizable pair of goggles that he donned on his head.

He didn't head in right away. To venture in there in broad daylight would be total madness. Davis knew the time to go in would be at night.

So he remained at his post until the sun began to set. Once he saw the sun fading into a dark orange, he knew it would be time to rush in. So he stepped out of the bushes and took a deep breath.

He took one step forward and realized he was about to take a big step into the final frontier. He had never been a part of a panty raid before, but here he was, about to enter a sorority house in hopes of coming out with every single pair of panties inside. And he would do it all on behalf of his fraternity of Alpha Zeta. Once he was done, Davis would be a brother.

Taking another deep breath, Davis headed forward into what would be his final initiation ritual.

* * *

Takato checked his watch. "It sure took you long enough, Davis."

Takato waited in another set of bushes, waiting for Davis to make whatever move he was going to make. He wasn't familiar with how panty raids were done, so he decided to just snoop around behind Davis and wait for all the fireworks to ignite. Davis searching a sorority house for panties just sounded like a total recipe for disaster and wackiness. And Takato wanted to be there to draw every detail. If Takato caught every piece of the action, he knew Goggle Man would be an even bigger hit than it already was.

Davis was already moving towards the Delta Gamma house, so Takato crept through the bushes right alongside him. Davis stopped for a moment, so Takato froze. The DigiDestined goggle boy turned around. Takato managed to freeze just in time for the bushes to remain motionless. Davis shrugged and kept on walking. Safely able to move forward again, Takato kept treading closely behind Davis.

Davis stopped at the front door and decided that a direct entrance likely wasn't a good idea. So Davis reached into a backpack and pulled out a grappling hook. He aimed for the sorority house's chimney. He tossed the grappling hook in the air until he hooked one of the gutters. He started climbing the rope, but ran into a problem as he scaled the wall. The gutter gave way and Davis began to slowly fall backwards until he landed on his back. Takato snickered as he drew the details of this latest little mishap of Davis's.

Davis quickly regrouped and grabbed his grappling hook again. He decided to hook it onto something a bit sturdier than the rain gutters. He aimed for the chimney itself. He tossed the grappling hook and it grasped onto the brick chimney. Davis began his ascent onto the Delta Gamma house's roof. That's when Takato saw the inherent problem this presented.

There was no way Takato could follow Davis up the roof and, assumedly, down the chimney. He would have to find another way inside. The goggled Tamer then got another idea. He would go in through a window and find Davis from there.

Not wasting anymore time, Takato rushed through the bushes to find the nearest window he could climb through. He saw all of them were locked, but there was one that was slightly ajar. Takato squeezed his fingers in as tightly as he could. He slowly pushed the window open and began to climb in.

* * *

Davis knew he was on easy street now. This wasn't the first time he climbed onto a roof and fell in through a chimney. This would be a piece of cake for him.

He gathered up his grappling hook and lowered the line slowly inside the chimney. He began carefully climbing down, but there was something he hadn't noticed. The hook had come loose and was wobbling frantically. The hook finally came loose and Davis found himself falling.

"AAH! OOF!"

Davis fell right on his backside. But he knew he was in for it. If there was anybody inside the house, he knew somebody would soon be on his tail. So he took a dive into a nearby closet and hid there. Nobody came into the room, meaning it was safe to go on, but before continuing, Davis checked the closet for any sign of what he was looking for.

After exiting the closet, Davis made his way to the sorority house's bathroom. He walked in and searched for what he sought in there, but that's when he began to hear footsteps. Davis scrambled to find a hiding place, but found himself stuck. He finally settled saw an extra shower curtain on the ground. He dove underneath it and covered himself. He heard somebody come in.

Davis peeked out from underneath the shower curtain in time to see a pair of bare feet belonging to a young lady in front of him. Then he saw a towel fall to her feet. The girl stepped into the shower and the water started running. He couldn't just wait there as this girl showered. Davis knew he had to get out of there. As he poked his head out, he saw a pair of panties, which would be his first. He grabbed them and stuffed them in his backpack. He tiptoed towards the door while the girl remained behind the shower curtain, unaware of Davis's presence. Davis reached the door and slowly opened it, but it opened with a loud creak…getting the attention of the girl in the shower.

"Leezel, is that you?" the girl asked. She stuck her head out and saw Davis. "AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!"

Davis followed suit. "AAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!"

That's when Davis realized that screaming would not solve anything, so he did the only thing he could do.

He ran to safety.

* * *

Rika laid flat on her back in her sleeping bag. "So what do you guys think about when you look up there?"

Everyone was looking up at the ceiling, but Rika didn't mean the ceiling. She meant the skies. It was a starry night and the girls were just getting in from the backyard of the Delta Gamma house. Although it was only eight o'clock, the girls were all already in their pajamas. A number of them were doing each others' hair, others were painting their nails, a couple were looking out the window, and others like Rika were lying on their backs in their sleeping bags.

"I thank my lucky stars there aren't any men here right now," Leezel joked.

"I feel the same way," Rika chuckled.

"You know, Rika, you never answered that question we asked you last night," Leezel pointed out.

"What question's that?" Rika asked.

"What's up with that Ryo guy? Are you two together or what?"

"Why would you think that?" Rika sighed.

"I don't know. It's like you two have a unique love-hate relationship. You're always cold to the guy, but I'll bet you can't imagine your life without him."

Rika smirked. "You don't know what you're talking about."

"No, I think…"

The door suddenly opened before Leezel could even finish. Rika sat up and saw Danielle, soaking wet and wearing nothing but a towel. She had literally just come out of the shower.

"Leezel! There's a guy in here! He tried to look at me in the shower and he took my underwear!"

The girls all gasped. They all looked at each other and started to panic. Leezel got to her feet and stood up on top of one of the beds.

"Girls, settle down! Now it appears we have a situation here. If there really is a man here, then…um…Danielle? Did you say he took your UNDERWEAR?"

"That's what I said."

"Ok, girls. It appears we have a PERVERT in this house…who's…uh…looking for our underwear."

The girls kept murmuring amongst themselves and panicking. Some of the girls were reaching for their bags and making sure their underwear was still safely in their possession. But for many of the other girls, their bags were in another room and they were noticeably nervous. Rika had just about had enough. She stood up and whistled.

"Ok, you girls are panicking over nothing!" Rika growled.

"Nothing?" Danielle repeated. "There's a creep going around grabbing and stealing our underwear! You're saying that's NOTHING?!"

Rika chuckled. "Ladies…sisters…if there's one thing I'm not, it's defenseless. Never have been, never will be." She started walking towards the door, but turned to look back before exiting. "You girls sit tight. I'm going out to make this pervert sorry he ever messed with Delta Gamma. He hasn't dealt with the likes of me before."

Rika walked out…and looked to arm herself with something…

* * *

TK looked on as the young campers worked on their crafts. They were making straw baskets. He made like a good volunteer and oversaw the whole thing. The cabin was so crowded, he didn't notice the other counselors there, but he was surprised when he ran into a certain young lady. She looked familiar, so TK tapped her on the shoulder.

"Rosa?"

Rosa turned around and smiled. "Hola, TK! I didn't expect to see you here."

"I didn't expect to see YOU here. What are you doing here?"

"Some of us at the high school are helping out for the weekend. But it's not a lot of us. You'd be surprised how unconcerned high school people are."

"Anybody else from the high school here?"

Rosa pointed behind TK. TK turned around and recognized the back of this certain boy's head.

"Cody!"

Cody turned around. "TK! What are you doing here?"

"I'm volunteering for the weekend. I didn't expect to see you and Rosa here."

"I didn't expect us to be the only two volunteers from the high school," Cody sighed.

TK was thinking about something. "You two are the only two volunteers here? You know…I have noticed you two have been getting closer. You always come to the university together. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you two…have a thing for each other."

Cody and Rosa stayed silent…giving TK a death glare.

"YOU'RE CRAZY!!!"

"¡¡ESTAS LOCO!!"

TK flinched and sweatdropped. "Ok…I know when I'm way off. You know, some of us are roasting marshmallows later. Feel free to join us."

Cody nodded. "Sounds good. I'll be there…and maybe Rosa will follow me. Who knows?"

TK started moving towards another table, but Rosa made sure to hold his arm.

"Uh…TK…you know, speaking of…uh…having a thing for someone…have you seen Ken around lately?"

Somehow, TK knew she would ask him that. He knew this was none of his business, but it was pretty obvious that Ken wasn't about to say anything himself. TK began to feel maybe it was best if he got involved.

"Uh…yeah…last I checked, he and Yolei were having a night out."

Rosa frowned. "Really? But…last time I heard, they were having a huge fight. I was starting to think Ken had finally left her for me."

TK didn't know what to say from there. But he knew he had to say something and hopefully put an end to everything. Ken and Yolei would thank him for it later.

"Rosa…those two are really…well…they're in love with each other. And I don't think Ken's looking for anybody else."

"How would you know?" Rosa huffed.

"Because I've seen it for myself. Rosa, maybe you should just quit while you're ahead. Believe me, you don't stand a chance with Ken."

TK was ready to kick himself. He worded that rather harshly and wished he could have put it gentler. He was feeling even worse when he saw Rosa defiantly turn her back on him, but not before TK noticed a tear rolling down her cheek. He had unintentionally hurt her feelings.

Rosa got up. "Con permiso…"

TK sighed. "Rosa, wait…"

Cody grabbed TK's arm and shook his head. "TK, what were you thinking? You don't know how Rosa is at the high school. It doesn't take much to make her lose her temper…and believe me, it'll be lost when she comes back."

TK didn't like the sound of that. "That's all I need: MORE woman problems."

There was a tapping on the door. TK looked over and saw Catherine was standing by the window and waving him over. It looked like there wouldn't be much more delay.

"Speak of the devil," TK groaned. "Excuse me, Cody."

Not wasting another moment, TK walked towards the door and decided to just get everything over with. He saw Catherine duck out as soon as TK walked out the door. She must have wanted him to follow her. So he tried to keep pace and she scurried away from the cabin.

Perhaps it was for the best. This was better off as a private conversation.

* * *

Izzy couldn't believe how much he was struggling. He was one of the most intelligent young men out there. He was extremely smart and had the ability to understand even the most complicated of scientific theories and mathematical theorems. He could do just about anything.

Yet he couldn't start a basic campfire.

"Come on, Izzy," Tentomon groaned. "Even Neanderthals could start a fire with two sticks."

Izzy had just about rubbed out the two sticks. "Don't compare me to a Neanderthal. I can do this."

"Are you sure you don't want me to get Joe?"

"Joe's probably AFRAID of fires. Besides, I can do this. It's all a matter of physics."

"Yeah, I can believe that. Starting a fire is physically impossible for you."

"Ha…ha. Aren't you quite the comedian?"

Izzy couldn't believe he was struggling this much with two wooden sticks. At this rate, he wouldn't have the fire ready in time for when Joe brought the kids. What he didn't notice was that he was about to be delayed even further. Somebody was calling him from the bushes.

"Izzy! Isn't that your professor friend?" Tentomon asked.

Izzy turned around and saw that Talley Onodera really was calling him from the bushes. He was starting to get scared that they had already found out that he spilled the beans. Izzy didn't want to go. He didn't know what Talley would do to her. But Tentomon was already pushing him over. Izzy gave in and walked over to the shrubs. Talley pulled him in.

"I need to talk to you," Talley said.

Izzy was getting nervous. "Y-You do?"

"Yeah…there's something you need to know."

Izzy was still thinking that the agents had discovered that he had spilled their secret. He was expecting to hear that Yamaki was going to have him secretly eliminated.

"What's that?"

Talley sighed. "Yamaki would kill me if he found out about this. He'd likely have me fired. But I think you need to know what's going on. There's something you need to be informed of."

Somehow, Izzy was getting another vibe now. He was starting to think Talley was talking about something completely different.

"What do you mean?" Izzy asked curiously.

"Izzy…Yamaki's turning to his last resort to deal with the Digimon. He's given up on finding the mole and he's turning his focus towards protecting Kari and stopping the Digimon threat. That's why he's going to resurrect the old Juggernaut project."

"I'm almost afraid to ask…but what's the Juggernaut project?"

"Juggernaut was first developed five years ago to deal with the increasing threat of wild Digimon coming into our world through West Shinjuku. It was designed to completely delete Digimon without leaving any loose data. However, the first run completely backfired and the end result was the destruction of our offices and the unofficial end to Hypnos. Our superiors were so furious that Yamaki and the rest of us ended up getting fired.

"Once the D-Reaper made its way into West Shinjuku, Yamaki was rehired and we were all brought back along with a group known as the Monster Makers to put an end to the threat once and for all. We worked with the Monster Makers to take all the bugs out of the Juggernaut system. Once the long debugging process was completed, the Tamers were able to defeat the D-Reaper and the Juggernaut program reverted it to its original state, essentially ending the threat forever."

"I'm not seeing a downside to this," Izzy mused. "If this Juggernaut project can help us, then what's the problem?"

"I'm not finished. True, the Juggernaut played a major role in ending the D-Reaper threat…but there were VERY serious side effects. In order to keep the D-Reaper in the Digital World, everything from the Digital World was sucked out of our world and sent back to where they came from. All remaining gateways to the Digital World were also closed. To this day, I still don't know how the Tamers got their Digimon back. I haven't exactly had the chance to ask them.

"But this is what worries me, Izzy. If Yamaki restores the Juggernaut system, the possibility exists that every Digimon in Odaiba, if not the entire world, could be sent back into the Digital World. And if every port is closed, there may be no getting them back."

Tentomon sweatdropped. "I don't like the sound of that."

Izzy didn't know what to say. "There has to be another way!"

"That's what I was hoping to talk to you about, Izzy. Maybe there IS another way. But Yamaki and Riley won't here it from me. That's why I need your help. You're the smartest guy I know. You'll know what to do…won't you?"

Izzy sighed. "I'll certainly give it my all."

"Most importantly of all, you can't tell ANYBODY about this! This is our little secret. Promise me, Izzy!"

It didn't take much to get Izzy to agree. "I promise. Not a soul will know about this."

Talley smiled. "Thank you. I know you can do this. I know you'll figure out another way to handle this."

Izzy would have no choice. If the overzealous Yamaki unleashed this Juggernaut system, then all the Digimon were in danger.

* * *

Davis stuck his head out of the closet. There was nobody else there. He was clear to advance. With the sorority house eerily quiet, he tiptoed towards another room that was shrouded in darkness.

He looked for a light switch, but the light bulb was out. Only the faint illumination from the streetlamps outside was providing a light source. Davis then noticed a lot of backpacks and bags around the room.

Feeling in a particularly nosy mood, Davis looked through one of the bags…and found clothes. This was just what he was looking for. He knew he would find what he was looking for in these bags. Davis had hit paydirt. He had found his first pair of underwear.

But just as Davis grabbed his first pair…

"DROP…THE UNDERWEAR!"

Davis flinched. He had been caught. He turned around and saw a girl standing by the light, holding up a broom. Her face was made clear by the light coming from outside.

It was Rika.

Before Davis could even make his move, Rika started twirling the broom in her hand like a staff before taking a fighting stance. She unleashed a battle cry and charged forward. Twirling the broom before her first strike, she smacked Davis across the face with the bristly cleaning utensil. Davis tried to roll out of the way to safety, but Rika kept hammering away with the broom. He nearly pulled himself away, but Rika pulled him back by the ankle before giving him a stiff shot in the back with the broom, breaking it in half.

Finally, after taking a brutal beating, Davis managed to escape the beating when he rolled out the door. As he ran down the hall, however, he tripped and fell on his face. He turned around just as Rika ran after him. Davis was in the light now and his face was revealed.

"DAVIS?!"

Davis gulped. "Uh…Rika…I…can explain…"

"PERVERT!!"

Rika started pounding on Davis with her new weapon of choice: a mop. When Davis got to his feet, Rika greeted him with a huge kick to the posterior that knocked him down again. Davis frantically tried to get away, but Rika had shattered the mop on his back, just as she did with the broom. While Davis held his back, Rika picked up a vase and shattered it on his head.

"OWWWW!! RIKA!!"

"Don't 'RIKA' me! You'll be sorry you ever broke in here, Davis!"

Rika had reached over for a nearby baseball bat that the sorority obviously used for their softball games. She swung for the fences, but Davis managed to duck before she hit a home run. Finally finding an opening, Davis started heading for the hills.

He was so willing to do anything for membership to this frat. Skydiving was one thing, breaking into a rival fraternity's party was another, but dealing with a vengeful Rika was too much.

This wasn't worth the punishment. Davis was finally ready to throw in the towel.

* * *

Takato was completely lost. After seeing Davis go up to the roof and down the chimney, Takato had no idea where to find him. He didn't know the sorority house was that big. He wondered how many people could fit in here before the fire marshal would break up the party.

He couldn't believe he had lost Davis. He needed to find him if he had any hopes of getting the inevitable disaster in his sketchbook. Takato didn't want to think he had come all this way just to come up empty. He would have loved to give Goggle Man a new adventure.

"Great…I may already have to go into repeats."

Suddenly, Takato started to hear a commotion. He got the feeling that he found his good buddy. Takato walked towards the source of the uproar, but was surprised when a certain someone knocked him down on his can.

Takato didn't even have time to yell. He turned around and saw Davis was already up and running. Then he noticed something else.

Takato had a pair of panties draping over his head. Davis must have dropped them.

Things didn't get any better, because someone else was apparently chasing Davis and stopped immediately upon spotting Takato. It turned out to be Rika…who was holding up a baseball bat.

"TAKATO?! You're a part of this, too, Goggle Head?!"

Takato realized that he was not in a good position at all. He was caught inside a sorority house, completely unannounced, and had a pair of womens' underwear hanging over his head.

"Rika! This isn't what it looks like! I…OHHHHH!!!"

Rika didn't give him a chance to finish. Instead, she lined up and gave Takato a stiff field goal kick…in an unfriendly area. She then picked him up and dragged him to the front door. While Takato moaned in pain, Rika tossed him out the front door like a sack of potatoes. Takato just stayed down, figuring it was best to stay still while his pain went away.

"AND STAY OUT!!" Rika shouted.

Takato laid flat on his back. "Great…me and my bright ideas…"

Suddenly, the door opened again. Rika came back out, holding a dish in her hand.

"And THIS is for abandoning me a few weeks ago!!"

Rika shattered the dish over Takato's head. She contentedly turned around and walked back into the Delta Gamma house while Takato laid back and lost consciousness.

* * *

Satisfied with a job well done, Rika was about to reassure her sisters that the perverts were all gone, but somebody else knocked on the door. She was fully convinced that it was either Davis or Takato. But she could have sworn she saw Takato's eyes roll back after she smashed that dish on his head. Rika simply shrugged. Whoever it was would get another taste of Rika's fury.

She looked around for something else she could arm herself with. She had already used a broom, a mop, a vase, a baseball bat, and a dish. That's when she found one of the girls' snowboards lying around. It was a wooden board and looked very solid. So Rika picked it up and walked towards the door. She braced herself, because the knob began to turn. Rika hadn't locked the door…which would make it easier to whack this pervert.

Rika stood back while someone walked through the door.

"Hello…ACK!!"

Rika had clobbered her target over the head, instantly knocking him out, and bent the snowboard. She had delivered a winning blow. What she didn't realize until after she had swung…was that it wasn't Takato or Davis.

Rika had inadvertently knocked out Ryo.

Rika looked down at Ryo and back at the bent snowboard. "Uh…oops."

Realizing her gaffe, Rika started dragging Ryo towards one of the couches.

* * *

TK had lost Catherine. It was far too late at night to be following anybody. TK didn't see her around anywhere. He came out of the bushes and looked around, but only saw he was by the vast lake.

"Just great," TK grumbled.

TK began to walk onto the dock by the lake. He felt like getting into one of the canoes and rowing off, but he knew he had to be back later. So far, volunteering here at the campsite hadn't been much fun. It wasn't the enjoyable, nostalgic experience he was hoping for. Between Catherine and Rosa, this had not been a good day.

Luckily, TK saw he wouldn't be complaining alone. He saw Gomamon swimming around, obviously taking a relaxing break.

"Hey, TK! What are you doing out here?"

"Lost. I was looking for Catherine, but I lost her."

"Catherine? I thought I heard Matt say you were done with Catherine."

"I AM done with Catherine! But…Catherine doesn't understand that. I can't believe this, Gomamon. Why me? I've never had this many girl problems before! I mean, between knowing Catherine wanting to be with me, having to tell Rosa that Ken doesn't want her, and between Kari…"

"Kari? What about Kari?"

TK quickly backtracked. "Uh…nothing."

"Wow, TK. I've never seen anybody have those kinds of problems with girls before. What are you going to do?"

"I don't know. But it's like this day can't get any worse."

If there was one thing TK should have learned from knowing Davis for so many years, it was that nothing good could ever come out of saying that. Sure enough, something did come along to make the night worse. Something was swimming inside the lake and it moved towards the dock. In the blink of an eye, it rushed the dock and knocked down its foundation.

Before TK could get to safety, he found himself falling into the lake. While TK splashed frantically, something enormous rose up from the water. It was a gigantic sea serpent.

"Ah! A DigiDestined! Just what I was looking to destroy!"

Gomamon rose up from the water. "MetalSeadramon?!"

"Close! You destroyed him, my cousin! And now I, ChaosSeadramon, am here for revenge!"

TK kept splashing. "Couldn't you come back some other night?!"

"NO! Prepare to meet your fate, but maybe I'll play around with you first."

ChaosSeadramon whipped his tail so that TK was flung into the air. Then the serpent slapped him in the back, sending him crashing back down into the ocean. TK felt like his body had been broken by the mighty blows.

Gomamon tried to help. "I'll save you, TK! Marching Fishes!"

Gomamon called his fishy friends to surround ChaosSeadramon. But the gigantic fiend sent them all aside with a mighty splash that created a tremendous wave.

"Gomamon…" TK squeaked. "Get help…"

Gomamon didn't want to leave, but turned around and swam away, knowing TK wouldn't last long against this brutal onslaught.

In the meantime, TK fought his hardest to stay conscious, because losing consciousness in the middle of the lake could cost him his life.

* * *

Kazu held up a bow and began aiming an arrow. "Ok, kids, to prepare for tomorrow's archery exhibition, I'm going to demonstrate the proper way to shoot an arrow. And because I'm SUCH an expert at it, my good friend, Kenta, is going to stand still over by that tree and I shoot this arrow and knock that apple off his head."

Inspired by a game Renamon and Gatomon played a few weeks ago, Kazu decided to help the kids out with their upcoming archery contest by playing a game of William Tell. Kenta stood still, with sweat running down his temples, as the apple was shaking on his head.

"Kenta, don't let that apple fall off. I don't want to have to put it back up again."

Kazu aimed carefully. He knew this would take the utmost precision and the slightest distraction would result in Kenta getting skewered.

"HELP!"

"Huh?"

Kazu was thrown completely off when he released the arrow. The arrow went into the air at a 45 degree angle into the tree leaves. A beehive fell out of the tree and landed beside Kenta. The bees angrily came out and started chasing him.

"AAH! KAZU!!"

"Uh…be right back. Kenta, watch the kids."

As Kenta hysterically ran around in circles while Kazu ran to the source of that distress call. He saw Gomamon waiting for him in one of the shrubs.

"What's up, Gomamon?"

"TK needs help! A Digimon's attacking him by the lake!"

Kazu was caught by surprise. "We'll be right there!" He ran out of the bush to retrieve his friend. "Kenta! Quit playing around! We've got a problem!"

Kenta was still running away from the angered bees. "Bigger than THIS?"

"Oh yeah!"

* * *

TK was about to lose consciousness. ChaosSeadramon was tossing him around like a ragdoll. Once again, the fiendish serpent launched TK into the air with his tail. As TK was in mid-air, ChaosSeadramon batted him down once more. TK felt a big tidal wave and suddenly found himself deep underwater. He didn't have the strength to pull himself up. He was drowning.

Unable to pull himself out, TK was about to pass out, but surprisingly, the attacks had stopped. He was starting to think that ChaosSeadramon had gotten cocky, but TK was determined to prove to this evil one that disposing of him wouldn't be so easy. With all of his strength, TK started swimming forward. He saw the shore a few feet away. With every ounce of adrenaline, TK swam to shore. He pulled himself out and coughed furiously. Then he turned around and saw why ChaosSeadramon had stopped attacking. Somebody had come to his rescue. It was MarineAngemon, who was flying around ChaosSeadramon.

"Stand still!" ChaosSeadramon shouted. "I can't whack you if you keep flying around like that! HEY!"

ChaosSeadramon had been hit with a blast. It came from a few feet away, by the shattered dock. The blast came from Kazu and Guardromon.

"Give him another one, Guardromon!"

"Guardian Barrage!"

Kenta held out his Digivice. "ChaosSeadramon, Mega level! The corrupted form of MetalSeadramon! But his River of Power attack hits just as hard as his counterpart!"

Guardromon shot another missile at ChaosSeadramon, which only looked to only be annoying him. ChaosSeadramon growled and got ready to attack.

"River of Power!"

Just like his old counterpart, MetalSeadramon, ChaosSeadramon fired a powerful ray at his opposition. Kazu managed to dive out of the way, but Guardromon was nailed in the chest and sent flying back until his back slammed onto a tree. ChaosSeadramon followed up by slapping MarineAngemon down with his tail.

Kenta gasped. "MarineAngemon!"

"Is that it?" ChaosSeadramon mocked. "That all you got?"

"Harpoon Torpedo!"

ChaosSeadramon sighed as he got hit from the side. "Now what?!"

TK looked over to see that Joe had arrived and was riding atop Ikkakumon, having Digivolved to his champion form. Ikkakumon stopped by the shore and dropped Joe off and resumed his attack.

"Come on! Can't one of you at least hit me HARD?! River of Power!"

ChaosSeadramon attacked again. Ikkakumon managed to avoid the shot and kept charging forward. He tried to tackle the serpent, but ChaosSeadramon didn't budge. Like his Dark Master cousin, he had metallic coating.

"Kazu, Kenta, go check on TK!" Joe shouted. "I'll take care of this guy!"

Kazu and Kenta rushed to TK's aid while Joe held out his Digivice. He knew it would take more than Ikkakumon to take this evil Digimon down.

****Ikkakumon…Digivolve to…Zudomon!****

Having reached the ultimate level, the large warrior turtle could more than hold his own. Zudomon swam towards ChaosSeadramon and got ready to attack with his hammer, which had beaten other Megas in the past.

"Vulcan's…"

Just as Zudomon reached up to strike, ChaosSeadramon extended his tail and wrapped it around Zudomon's wrists. Zudomon found himself being tossed around in circles. ChaosSeadramon threw him over to the shore. Things weren't going well at all. TK knew he had to do something. He tried to get up…but he couldn't.

He ended up falling over and passing out.

* * *

Joe watched as Zudomon got tossed towards the shore. He had never seen the ultimate-level Digimon get thrown like that before. But it would take more than that to take Zudomon out. He got right back up and jumped back into the water. But it was just then that Joe's cell phone rang.

Joe picked it up, thinking it may have been Izzy. "Hello?"

_"Joe…bringing your cell phone to a campsite? That isn't exactly my idea of roughing it."_

Joe was in shock. "Gennai?!"

_"Better hold this phone up, Joe. I've got just what Zudomon needs! A gift from Baihumon!"_

Joe whistled out to his partner and held up the phone. "Zudomon, heads up!"

Zudomon knew what was coming. "No way!" He pointed to MarineAngemon, who was on the shore with Kenta. "I am not turning into THAT!"

ChaosSeadramon took aim. "River of Power!"

The attack narrowly missed Zudomon and hit the water in front of him. But the force of the blast sent a tidal wave splashing over him. Zudomon tried to shrug it off and continue on, but Joe was persistent in holding up his phone.

"Do it, Gennai!"

A blue light came out from Joe's cell phone. While Joe didn't know how SHRINKING Zudomon would help, it didn't take long for him to get the shock of his life.

****Zudomon…Mega Digivolve to…Preciomon!****

Zudomon hadn't changed into a smaller Mega. Instead, he grew into a large white sea dragon, much like the Lochness monster. Zudomon had reached the Mega level and it was far different than what Izzy had projected. Izzy's calculations looked to be way off, because this was no MarineAngemon.

"I am Preciomon, the guardian of the seas! My Water Tail Blaster attack cleanses the seas of all evil!"

ChaosSeadramon and Preciomon were evenly matched in terms of size and both looked set to go head-to-head. ChaosSeadramon went first.

"Same sardine, different can! I'll still blow you out of the water! River of Power!"

"Water Tail Blaster!"

Both Digimon attacked at the same time. Their attacks both collided and, initially, they appeared to be of even strength. But soon, Preciomon's attack began overpowering the River of Power. Before long, the attack nailed ChaosSeadramon right in the mouth. Just as WarGreymon had done to MetalSeadramon, the force of Preciomon's attack split ChaosSeadramon's mouth wide-open. That was all it took to dispose of the fiendish ChaosSeadramon. The sea serpent collapsed onto the water before fading away in a burst of pixels.

Joe had seen his partner deliver some crushing blows before, but never anything like that. However Gennai did it, he made Joe's partner extremely powerful. So powerful that he was able to make very short work of ChaosSeadramon. It was a sight to behold.

But then he realized he had more imperative matters to attend to. He ran over to TK, who was being tended to by Kazu and Kenta. He was unconscious. Having studied for so long for his PhD, Joe knew how to handle such a situation. First, he lifted TK's arm, which was limp. Then he checked for a pulse.

Joe realized the situation was bad. "Call a doctor!"

  


Next Week: TK's sent to the hospital after the brutal attack from ChaosSeadramon. After learning of that attack, Tai and Matt are more determined than ever to get some answers. What happens when they meet Yamaki for the first time? As if the punishment he received at the Delta Gamma house wasn't bad enough, there are more repercussions in store for Davis. What happens when KARI finds out what happened? And is Takato ready to sketch the details? And how long can Impmon continue instigating fights between Renamon and Gatomon before he gets caught? He may get his comeuppance sooner than later. And the villains receive two surprises: one that will help their cause greatly…and one that'll rock them to their very foundation. It'll be something they never expect! See all this and more on the next Digimon: The College Years!

  


Any comments? Then mail me at AmericanCaptor@hotmail.com and don't forget to review below!


	30. Backlash!

Last Week: Chaos broke loose all over. Davis attempted a panty raid against Delta Gamma on behalf of Alpha Zeta. What he didn't expect to run into was opposition in the form of Rika, who used a variety of objects to defend her sorority. Takato, who followed Davis to draw the inevitable confrontation, was inadvertently caught red-handed and also drew Rika's wrath. Satisfied with her efforts, Rika was about to walk back in, but heard another knock on the door. She clobbered the visitor with a snowboard, but didn't realize it was Ryo. Meanwhile, things weren't going too well for TK at the campsite. He found Rosa and Cody and decided it would be best to bring Rosa down gently. The results were far from gentle. As he kicked himself, TK saw Catherine waving him out and began to follow her. While that went on, Izzy ran into Talley, who informed him of the dangerous Juggernaut system. TK eventually lost Catherine, but found something much worse: the fiendish ChaosSeadramon, who attacked with great fury. Joe, Kazu, and Kenta came to the rescue, but Guadromon and MarineAngemon didn't fare too well against ChaosSeadramon. But the sinister sea serpent was ultimately defeated by Preciomon, who had reached the Mega level. After ChaosSeadramon was destroyed, Joe went to check on TK and the news wasn't good.

  


**Digimon: The College Years**

Episode 30- Backlash!

  


"I think he's waking up."

TK was finally coming to. He slowly began to open his eyes and his vision didn't clear up immediately. He didn't know where he was. Finally, his eyesight cleared and TK recognized his surroundings. The roof looked familiar and so did the lights. Joe had brought him here before. He was in the Odaiba Medical Center. TK was in the hospital.

"How did I get here?" TK asked weakly.

Nobody answered him. Everybody was busy bringing him to a hospital room and gingerly lifting him off his stretcher. TK was gently placed on the hospital bed. Wanting some answers, he tried to sit up, but quickly laid back down when his whole body brimmed with pain.

"I wouldn't try that again," the doctor said. "It says here that you've racked up quite a few injuries. But a quick shot of pain-killers ought to sedate you for a few hours."

Before TK even realized it, he felt a needle get stuck in his arm. It didn't take long for the sedative to take effect. He began to feel woozy and started falling back on the bed. TK just laid back and passed out.

* * *

Matt found himself up bright and early the next day. Tai didn't want to waste any time in finding this undercover government agent Izzy told them about. At first, neither of them knew where to look, but Izzy informed them that this Yamaki guy was working as a College Writing professor. Knowing where they had to go now, Matt and Tai headed over to the liberal arts building where the College Writing classes were held.

Matt and Tai waited patiently for the first session to end. Matt noticed Tai had an intense look in his eye. It was the look of a protective big brother, a look Matt was very familiar with. Tai would stop at nothing to make sure Kari would stay safe.

Finally, the class was dismissed. Matt and Tai waited for everybody to walk out before walking inside, where they both saw a blond-haired man wearing shades in a shirt and tie starting to grade papers while fumbling with a lighter in his left hand.

The man looked up when he noticed Matt and Tai there. "Don't tell me. I said I'd have your names recognized by now. Just give me one second…"

"Uh…we're not students," Tai said.

"In that case, what can I help you gentlemen with?"

Tai leaned over on the desk. "You don't know who we are…but we know who you are…Mr. Government Agent."

Yamaki paused. "Excuse me?"

Tai leaned in closer. "We know your secret. We know who you are."

Yamaki instantaneously dropped his pen. He then reached into his desk and pulled out a sign that said 'CLASS CANCELLED'. He walked over and placed it on the door. He shut the door and lowered all the blinds before turning back to Matt and Tai.

"I demand to know who you two are," Yamaki snarled. "And I demand to know how you discovered my identity."

"I have a few demands of my own," Tai responded. "Why did you think you could hide in our school and pretend to be professors? And why didn't you want to tell us?"

"I don't even know who you are!" Yamaki snapped.

"I'm Tai Kamiya! And I'm a DigiDestined!"

Silence.

"So you DigiDestined know. I warned Talley that we shouldn't trust anybody. I trust you found out from Izzy."

"It took some effort to get him to spill his guts," Tai replied. "But he told us exactly who you are. And I want to know exactly what's going on. What do you know about us? What do you know about what's going on?"

Yamaki removed his shades. "Kamiya. I trust that Kari girl is related to you?"

"She's my little sister."

"A conflict of interest," Yamaki muttered coldly. "I realize you care about your sister. Believe me, I'm doing all I can to ensure her safety against the Digimon infiltrating this world."

"But do you know why those Digimon want her?!" Tai demanded. "Is there anything you're hiding from us?"

Yamaki walked around while fumbling with his lighter. "When I came into this school with Riley and Talley, we came in with very confidential information. However, it's become apparent that once Izzy revealed himself as a DigiDestined, Talley has begun confiding in him more. I wouldn't be surprised if he knows every one of our secrets and motives. I trust he's told you everything he knows. Beyond that, there's nothing more I can tell you.

"All I can say is that there's a reason those Digimon have targeted Kari and those reasons cannot result in anything good. Therefore, we have focused on keeping her safe…while also maintaining our original objective of flushing out the mole on this campus."

"But why keep this all from us?" Tai asked. "We could help you. We know more about the Digital World than anybody!"

"That point can be debated. I've been studying the Digimon phenomena since day one! I've been keeping up with Digimon since the day of the Highton View Terrace attack! Despite all the information that was mysteriously lost, I kept up with everything. While computers can crash and lose all their information, there's nothing that can erase what's written on pen and paper. I've kept journal entries that have chronicled everything involving these creatures! I witnessed the battle between the two behemoths at Highton View Terrace! I was there during the invasion of Myotismon's forces! I saw each and every one of you return to the Digital World and I saw you all battle Apocalymon! And not only did I witness what happened in West Shinjuku, but I spearheaded the operation that took D-Reaper down forever!

"Having said that, there's a reason I kept you all in the dark. We've still been unable to discover exactly who the mole is or where the information leak is coming from. If anybody else knew who we were, our fear was that the mole would eventually find out our identities and attempt to lay low, so we didn't want to risk our identity being revealed through any of you. But it's become obvious that our methods aren't as effective as we previously hoped. With the sudden focus of the Digimon going towards your sister, it's becoming more and more imperative that we find the identity of the mole before it gets to the point that Odaiba University itself becomes subject to attacks."

"Keeping us in the dark isn't helping," Tai growled. "The time for secrets isn't now! Not when things involve my sister!"

Suddenly, Matt's phone began to ring.

Tai sweatdropped. "Matt, couldn't you turn that thing off for one second?!"

Matt answered his phone. "Hello?"

_"Matt? It's Joe! I tried reaching you all night! Where have you been?"_

"Last night? Oh, I left my phone in my room after I went out with Sora. What is it?"

_"Matt...it's TK! There was a Digimon attack at the campsite! TK's in the hospital!"_

"WHAT?! Is he ok?!"

_"He's alive, but he's in pretty bad shape! The doctor said he'd be ok…"_

"Joe, stay where are you are! I'll call you back! Don't go anywhere!"

Matt hung up. He couldn't believe what he just heard. He didn't imagine that his little brother would be at the brunt of an attack. Granted, there was always a risk that came with being a DigiDestined. But after so many years of going through the worst and coming out on top, Matt didn't think something like this could happen.

Tai saw the blank look in his friend's eye. "Hey, man. What's wrong?"

"TK's in the hospital! It was a Digimon!"

Silence.

"The situation is clearly getting worse by the day," Yamaki cut in. "You two should go tend to TK and make sure he's ok. He'd better be. He's one of my brightest students and I think he has quite a future ahead of him. In the meantime, I will continue to search for a way to deal with all that's going on."

Matt decided to take a cue from Tai and get overprotective. "Ok…but I get the feeling you're hiding something from us. This isn't the last you've seen of us. Next time I see you…I want to know EVERYTHING."

Yamaki just fumbled with his lighter again. "Everything will unfold when the time comes."

Matt and Tai made sure to look back at Yamaki before they left. It sounded very obvious that he was hiding something.

* * *

Datamon punched more codes into his supercomputer. There were no more signs of ChaosSeadramon. The Mega sea serpent had fallen, but his efforts were not in vain. One of the DigiDestined had been taken down for the moment. If things continued to progress at that rate, everything would roll along smoothly.

Of course, there was still one fly in the ointment. Datamon's dreams of immortality and glory were going by the wayside if he couldn't bring the Dark One out of his prison in the Dark Ocean. And without the Child of Light, there seemed to be no other way to bring him in.

Datamon began to hear footsteps behind him. Somebody was coming in. He knew who it had to be.

"What do you want NOW, Puppetmon?"

"Datamon…I'm over here."

Datamon looked over and saw Puppetmon had already come in and was standing by the corner with his toys. The one who had just come in was The Digimon Empress.

"I guess your buddy got canned like a tuna," she smirked. "Anymore bright ideas, Puppetmon?"

"He went farther than anyone else we've sent!" Puppetmon pointed out. "He took that little snot, TK, out of the game for now! And once he gets back in, like I know he will, then I'll be ready to finish him off! Besides, it's not like YOU did anything to help!"

"You'd think that, but you'd be wrong," The Digimon Empress chuckled. "I just found out something that'll turn the tide completely in our favor."

"New information," Datamon said proudly. "I couldn't have heard better news. You've done me proud. So what has my trusty mole discovered today?"

"Somebody's had their eye on us. Apparently, I'm not the only one at Odaiba U with a secret. There have been government agents watching us and trying to find me without any luck at all. What they don't know is that I found them first. But that's not all.

"I discovered that they've been trying to take the offensive. I heard them talking about something known as the Juggernaut system. It was once used to destroy a rogue program in West Shinjuku. It's currently being designed to take any Digimon that infiltrate the real world and send them back to the Digital World. However, it's apparently so powerful that the future of Digiports is in doubt. It could turn out to be a major side effect."

"What does that have to do with us?" Puppetmon growled.

Datamon held out his hand. "Wait…"

Datamon thought about what this meant. If there really was such a potent and dangerous program out there, then there was a chance he could use it to his advantage. He had the ability to completely reprogram the system to do his own bidding. In fact, if it was really that powerful…there was a big chance it could bring the Dark One out of the Dark Ocean with the right reprogramming.

"She's right," Datamon said. "This could turn the tide completely in our favor!" He turned to The Digimon Empress. "I want you to stand by and come back tomorrow. By tomorrow, I will have something ready to completely alter the Juggernaut program. In the meantime, I want you to find out where exactly the system is located."

The Digimon Empress smirked. "Consider it…done…ugh…"

The Digimon Empress's smirk faded as she fell to one knee. She held her head as she collapsed to the ground.

Datamon handed an injector needle to Puppetmon. "She's missing her medication. Give it to her."

Puppetmon walked over and was about to inject the drug into the ailing young woman, but pulled back. "What's the magic word?"

The Digimon Empress defiantly pulled herself to her feet. "WOOD-CHIPPER!!"

Immediately upon saying that, she fell back down. Datamon knew what was going on. The Dark Spore was eating away at her again. It was slowly executing her.

"Puppetmon, just give it to her! If we lose our mole, we lose the fight!"

Puppetmon begrudgingly injected The Digimon Empress with the medicine. It didn't take long for the potent medication to kick in. The Digimon Empress managed to coordinate herself enough to slowly get to her feet.

"That's something I'll never get used to," she moaned.

"And if you don't want to stay that way next time, you'd better get going!" Puppetmon snapped.

The Digimon Empress obliged and turned to walk away, but not before shooting Puppetmon a cold stare. Meanwhile, Datamon immediately got to work on his supercomputer, writing the code that would reprogram Juggernaut.

"And just what are YOU doing?" Puppetmon huffed.

Datamon chuckled. "Winning the war."

* * *

After the Godzilla-level disaster of the previous night, Davis needed ANYTHING to get what happened off his mind. He didn't come out of that panty raid too successful. In fact, he pretty much came out empty-handed. All he could do was reflect on failure as he laid back on his bed.

"How did I blow this one, Veemon?" Davis sighed.

"You really didn't get a single pair, Davish?" Veemon asked.

Patamon tapped Wormmon on the shoulder. "Ok, pay up."

Wormmon hung his head down and handed Patamon some money. It was clear that the two had money riding on Davis's success…or lack thereof.

"I can't believe it, Veemon," Davis groaned. "All I had to do was come out with at least ONE pair! ONE PAIR!"

"What exactly happened in there?" Patamon asked.

"Everything was going fine until I ran into Rika," Davis explained. "Then she went crazy and just started hitting me with stuff!"

Wormmon snickered innocently. "I can only imagine what would have happened if you had tried to take Rika's underwear. She would knocked you into next week."

A light bulb suddenly appeared over Davis's head. "Hey…THAT'S IT!"

"Huh? What's it?" Veemon asked curiously.

"I almost forgot! Rika's a Delta Gamma! And she lives on the second floor! I can just go up to Kari's room and sneak out with a pair of Rika's underwear!"

"You just had to give him another bright idea," Patamon grumbled to Wormmon.

"I didn't think he'd actually be crazy enough to try something like that," Wormmon muttered back.

"Wormmon, this is DAVIS we're talking about!"

Without wasting another second, Davis jumped off his bed and rushed to the phone. He immediately dialed the right number.

"Hello? **…** Hi, Kari! **…** So is anybody there right now? **…** Just you and the Digimon? No Jeri? No Rika? **…** Great! Maybe…this would be the best time to come over? **…** I'll be right there!"

Davis hung up. Eager to rush over and put his backup plan into action, he ran out the door without even waiting for anybody. In fact, he ran out so fast, he crashed into someone.

"Hey! DAVIS!"

"Oh…sorry about that, Takato."

"It's alright, but…where are you headed in such a hurry?"

"I just have to see Kari for a little bit. I'll see you later."

Davis quickly got to his feet and started dashing off. If the girls were still at the sorority house, then Davis had to take advantage of this plan as soon as possible.

* * *

Takato got to his feet. Davis was in a hurry to get somewhere and that could mean only one thing. He was looking for trouble again. But Takato had to make sure of what was going on, lest he get himself into as much trouble. He was still wearing a bandage around the top of his head from the plate Rika shattered over his head.

Rather than follow Davis, Takato simply went to Davis's room and knocked on the door.

"Veemon?" Takato whispered. "You there?"

The door slowly budged open. Takato squeezed himself through the slightly ajar door and made his way inside. Before anyone else could come through, Veemon shut the door.

"What happened?" Veemon asked, noticing the bandage on Takato's head.

"Uh…don't ask. Veemon? Where's Davis off to in such a hurry?"

"You…want to know where Davish is going?"

"That's right. Are you going to tell me…Little Boy Blue?"

Patamon and Wormmon both gave Veemon curious stares. Veemon sweatdropped and tried to avoid their gazes.

"OH! Yeah! He went to Kari's room. He said something about wanting to get a pair of Rika's underwear since he didn't come back with anything during the raid."

Takato sat down and thought about that. "That could be really funny if I could watch everything go down. Especially if things go wrong. But how can I sneak a peek into a dorm room on the second floor?"

"If only there was a way for you to look in through the window," Wormmon cut in.

"Hmm…you know…that might not be such a bad idea. I think I saw a ladder lying around somewhere outside. It just might work!"

"You're on a roll today, aren't you?" Patamon groaned.

"If only Ken was here to hear all of my good ideas," Wormmon grinned.

"I might need some help with this," Takato pointed. "If you two want to help, I can give you each a cameo."

"A cameo for a college comic strip?" Patamon mused. "Sounds like fun! I'm in!"

"Me too!" Wormmon added. "What do we have to do?"

Takato opened the window. "Just follow me."

* * *

Kari wished she could put her finger on what was going on. Gatomon and Renamon hadn't said a word to each other in a long time, which was bothering Kari as much as anybody else. She didn't know how to prove it, but something didn't seem right about this at all.

"Will you two talk to each other?"

Silence. Gatomon stayed on her bent litter box and Renamon stayed put on Rika's bed. Neither made any attempt to communicate with the other. Kari could only shake her head.

That's when somebody knocked on the door. Kari felt relieved that she could relax more with Davis around. She opened the door and let him in. She quickly greeted him with a friendly hug.

"I missed you!" Kari giggled. "How long has it been since we've gone out?"

"Too long," Davis answered. "You want to try tonight?"

Kari's eyes brightened. "Sounds great! When should we leave?"

"How about right now? Why don't you wait for me downstairs?"

"Huh? Wait for you downstairs? Aren't you coming with me?"

"I'll catch up. I…just have to make sure I have everything in my wallet."

It was an odd request to say the least. But then Kari remembered who she was dealing with. Davis was a very odd person.

"Uh…ok. I'll wait for you downstairs."

Kari slowly walked out of her room, feeling rather weird. It was almost as if Davis wanted to stay behind. But she shrugged that thought off. She just focused on the positive side.

She was actually getting the chance to go out.

* * *

Takato nearly fell over. He tried to keep his balance on that shaky ladder, but found himself nearly falling over on two or three occasions.

"Keep it steady, guys."

Takato had more than enough helpers on his side. He had gotten Veemon, Patamon, and Wormmon to help, plus he went back to his room and got Guilmon. It should have been enough labor to keep a simple ladder stable.

Once the ladder was stable, Takato peeked in through a crack in the curtains. He didn't see any sign of the girls, but he did see Davis in there. Renamon and Gatomon had their eyes closed and their backs turned to each other. It was almost as if they hadn't noticed Davis at all.

And Davis Motomiya definitely looked like he was up to something.

Takato held up his sketchbook and pencil while trying to keep his footing. It would be a challenge, but whatever happened, he would be there to draw the whole thing.

* * *

Kari waited patiently downstairs, but Davis was taking an awfully long time. Especially for someone who was supposedly just checking his wallet. Maybe he was helping settle things between Gatomon and Renamon. If so, Kari would love him forever for being such a dear.

While she waited, someone walked through the main door of the building. It was Rika and she was leading Ryo in by the hand. Ryo stuck out like a sore thumb with a large bump above his left eye.

Kari gasped. "What happened?"

"A little miscommunication," Rika smirked. "No biggie. I would have eventually knocked him silly anyway. What are you doing down here?"

"Oh…I'm waiting for Davis. He's…"

"DAVIS?! He's lucky to even be alive right now after what he tried to pull last night! Where is he? I want to pound him again!"

"Huh? What do you mean? What are you talking about, Rika?"

"He broke into the Delta Gamma house last night! Davis tried to steal our underwear! I caught him red-handed! He even tried to peek at Danielle in the shower!"

Kari was in shock. "W-What? That can't be right."

"Yeah, well why don't we just go up and pay him a visit. Where is he?"

"He's in our room."

Rika's eyes widened. "You left him in our room…ALONE?! Let's get up there!"

Rika started running while leading Ryo along by the hand. Kari followed right behind, but couldn't grasp what Rika was saying. It couldn't possibly be right. Davis could be eccentric, but he wasn't perverted by any stretch of the imagination. That couldn't be the Davis she knew.

It had to be a mistake.

* * *

Although Kari was gone, there was still a fly in this ointment. Gatomon and Renamon were still around. Davis knew he had to do some quick thinking to get out of this one. Then he got an idea.

"Uh…are you two mad at each other or something?"

"What gave you that idea?" Gatomon muttered dryly.

"I'm just angry because she put glue in my sandwich!" Renamon growled.

"I told you I didn't do that!" Gatomon shot back. "And even if I did, it would be perfect payback for you covering me in feathers!"

"That wasn't me! If anything, you likely dipped yourself in them just so you could blame me! You couldn't handle having a superior friend like me, so you decided to frame me!"

"Superior? I'm still better than you are, Renamon!"

"Ha! You are not! I will always be better than you, cat! You should just face that fact!"

"I've got an idea," Davis grinned. "Why don't you try proving who's better right now? How about…oh…I don't know…a duel?"

"A duel?" both Gatomon and Renamon repeated.

"Yeah! Like in the old west. You turn around, take ten paces, turn and fire. But let's make it even better. Can you two do it blindfolded?"

"I have no problem with being blindfolded," Renamon responded. "I have uncanny instincts."

"But we don't have anything for a duel," Gatomon pointed out. "Don't we need pistols or something like that?"

Davis was about to kick himself. He knew he needed pistols for a duel. But luckily, somebody else was around. Davis felt a tugging on his sleeve. It was Impmon, who just happened to have the perfect dueling materials.

"They may not be REAL pistols, but they're good enough on such short notice," Impmon said. "Super Soakers. One for each of youse."

Impmon handed Gatomon and Renamon a Super Soaker and then pulled out two blindfolds. He tied the blindfolds around their eyes and stepped back. Impmon then focused on bringing the two Digimon back-to-back. This was exactly the kind of diversion Davis was looking for. He slyly started backing towards one of the drawers.

Impmon took one step back. "Ok, take ten paces, turn, and fire. Ready…go. 1…2…3…"

As Impmon counted, Davis slowly opened one of the drawers. He only found shirts, so he closed it up and opened the next one. He had found the right one. But as he reached in and grabbed a pair of underwear, he felt a healthy set of teeth clamp down on his finger.

"YEOW!!"

Impmon casually waved his hand. "Don't interrupt. Where was I? Oh yeah…8…9…10…FIRE!"

Gatomon and Renamon both turned around and started firing. Unfortunately, being blindfolded like they were, both missed their targets. Renamon accidentally squirted Impmon while Gatomon was squirting Davis right in the face.

"ACK! Cut it out!" Davis shouted.

Suddenly, the door opened. "What's going on here?!"

Everything stopped in an instant. Gatomon and Renamon both lowered their blindfolds and then slowly turned their heads towards the door. Impmon gulped and looked at the door, as well. Davis nearly turned white when he saw who was at the door, because he had now been caught with his hand in the proverbial cupboard.

Standing at the door, now having seen everything…were Rika, Ryo…and Kari.

Rika turned beet red. "What's your hand doing in my drawer?!"

Davis shifted his eyes to his right hand, which was still in Rika's drawer. His right hand was still being held by a pair of teeth. He slowly pulled it out to reveal a pair of panties on his wrist…and Calumon clamping down on his hand. He waved his hand around frantically, but Calumon had an iron grip to go with a healthy set of chompers. He wouldn't let go.

"You see, Kari?!" Rika huffed. "Caught him red-handed AGAIN!"

Kari was in a state of shock. "Davis…what are you thinking?! What are you doing?!"

Davis was stuck. He didn't know what to say. "Kari…I can explain…"

Rika crossed her arms. "Oh, I've got to hear this."

Kari eyed her roommate. "Rika…I'd rather leave this as a private argument, if you don't mind."

Rika held up her hand. "One second. If this is anything like last time…let me have a look around."

Rika started wandering around her room. It was obvious she was looking for somebody. Davis didn't know who she was expecting to find, because he was acting alone. Then she reached her curtain and gripped it tightly.

"AHA!"

Rika opened up the curtain and revealed somebody watching outside. Of all people, it was Takato on a ladder. He was looking inside and holding up a pencil and a sketchbook.

Davis was caught off-guard. "Takato?!"

"Big mistake, Goggle Head!" Rika snarled.

She opened up her window and was about to tip the ladder over. Takato grabbed her wrists for dear life.

"Rika, NO! This isn't what you think it is! If you just give me a chance to explain…!"

"Talk to the grass!"

With that, Rika pushed the ladder forward…tipping it over.

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!"

Takato fell right along with the ladder. With the goggled Tamer on the grass, Rika simply dusted off her hands and shut her window. She walked by Davis and snatched her underwear away and stuffed them in her pocket. Then she casually took Ryo's hand and started leading him out.

"Ok, NOW I'll leave you two alone. But do me a favor, Kari. If you're going to hit him, give him one for me. Let's go, Ryo."

Rika started leading Ryo away by the hand. He could only shake his head.

"I don't even know what's going on. I'm just a spectator."

Rika shut the door behind her after leading Ryo out. Kari looked around and shot cold stares at every Digimon in the room. Gatomon and Renamon both exchanged looks and headed into the closet. It was the first thing they had agreed on since they started fighting again. Impmon was quick to follow. Kari then shot Calumon a glare. He finally let go of Davis's hand and ran into the closet to join the other Digimon. That left Kari and Davis alone.

"I want to give you the benefit of the doubt," Kari began, "so I'm going to give you a chance to explain. Davis Motomiya, what were you doing peeking through Rika's underwear drawer?"

Davis scratched the back of his head. "Uh…you really want to know?"

"Tell me!"

"Oh…ok…uh…Kari…this was…an initiation ritual. The frat wanted me to raid the Delta Gamma house and come out with their underwear. They wanted me to go on a panty raid. But I didn't expect Rika to catch me there, so I didn't come out with anything. And then I decided to…come in here and try to get Rika's underwear."

Kari was getting angrier by the second. "So…you tried to come in here…push me out of the room…just so you could take Rika's underwear?! You never even planned on taking me out tonight, did you?! You just used me as a complete tool, didn't you?!"

"No! It's not like that!"

"How could you do that, Davis?! How could you do that to me and to my friend?! And all for a stupid fraternity?! I thought you were better than that!"

"Kari, I just wanted to get in…"

"At what cost?! Look what you've put Rika through, look what you've put Takato through…"

"Ok, I don't know WHERE Takato came from…"

"…and Davis…look what you put ME through! You haven't had any time for me at all since this whole frat nonsense started! You haven't even talked to me! And the only reason you even talked to me at all today was just to use me! Just to shoo me out so you can get a pair of underwear for those stupid frat guys!"

Davis was stuck. "Kari…I wanted in so bad…"

Kari shook her head and opened the door. "Davis…just leave. Get out!"

"Kari…"

"GET OUT! PLEASE!"

Davis hung his head down. Kari wasn't just angry, but from the look in her eyes, she was also hurt. That's when Davis began to realize everything. He hadn't been that wonderful guy he should have been. He had finally had his long-awaited chance with Kari…and he was blowing it over a stupid fraternity.

He looked sadly at Kari. "I'm sorry…"

Kari closed her eyes. "Please…just go…"

From looking into Kari's ruby-colored eyes, Davis knew he wasn't going to get anywhere. The time to talk about this wasn't now. So he simply started leaving. Kari didn't even look at him as he left.

As he left, Davis was starting to think that maybe the frat really wasn't worth it, after all.

* * *

Kari just shut the door. She couldn't believe Davis would try something like that. It was so unlike him. And it definitely wasn't the guy she had been falling for. It sounded so much like…the old Davis. She couldn't believe it.

She looked at the closet. "You guys can come out now!"

The closet slowly opened. Calumon walked out, followed by Impmon. Renamon stayed in while Gatomon walked over to Kari, who had plopped down on her bed and had her face buried in her pillow.

"Kari…are you ok?"

"NO! How could he be this way, Gatomon? That's not the Davis I know!"

"Kari, it'll be ok. Maybe Davis will eventually realize what an idiot he's been."

Kari sat up. "You know, I was seriously wondering if maybe things would ever REALLY work out between me and Davis. I think this is making my decision a lot easier."

"What do you mean?" Gatomon asked.

Kari was about to answer, but she was interrupted when the phone rang. Since no one else was there, Kari reached over and picked it up.

"Hello? **…** Hi, Matt. **…** What? **…** WHAT?! **…** Oh my God! I'll be right there!!"

Kari hung up the phone and quickly got her things. Gatomon hopped down and headed to cut Kari off. Kari's partner had noticed that the girl was now visibly shaken.

"Kari, what is it?"

Kari uttered the words she never wanted to say in her life. "TK's in the hospital!"

* * *

It was still dark out in the skies of Server. Nobody in their right mind was up at this hour. Everyone was asleep and nothing was stirring, not even an evil villain.

But then there was a crash.

That was all it took to get Datamon's attention. He immediately stormed towards the source of the racket. They were the unmistakable sounds of destruction. Things were being smashed and Datamon began to think it was Puppetmon going on an impromptu tirade.

But when he walked into the base, he was shocked to see that it wasn't Puppetmon. Something else was there and it was attempting to destroy every piece of equipment in the Server base. Datamon was literally watching every piece of his work get destroyed by a mysterious culprit, who couldn't be seen through the shadows.

"YOU! Who goes there?!"

The culprit turned around, still covered by the darkness. An identity couldn't be made out. The mysterious intruder started running out at great speed. It wasn't shaped like a human. It was a Digimon.

"Stop that Digimon!"

The intruder tried to make a clean getaway. There seemed to be nobody who would stop the trespasser, but there was someone to intercept the intruder. It was ChaosGallantmon, who had come out of his chamber.

"Dark Saber!"

His Dark Saber attack narrowly missed. The mysterious trespasser moved around the attack and kept running. ChaosGallantmon tried to give chase, but couldn't catch the speedy intruder in time. The offender had escaped. But before the culprit made a clean getaway, Datamon managed to notice that whoever it was matched up in height with ChaosGallantmon.

Deciding to go analyze the damage, Datamon walked over to the main chamber. To his chagrin, his precious supercomputer had been completely destroyed. The delicate equipment was in shambles.

"It took me years to construct that apparatus!" Datamon shouted. "Whoever did this shall pay dearly!"

Too late to do anything, Puppetmon walked in and surveyed the damage. "Hey, it looks like I missed out on some party. I hate not being invited to parties! The last guy who didn't invite me to a party got a taste of my hammer!"

"This WASN'T a party!" Datamon groaned. "SOMEBODY destroyed our equipment! And…I don't know who!"

Puppetmon saw ChaosGallantmon returning to his post and standing inert once more. He walked over and gave the mighty dark knight a verbal thrashing.

"You call yourself a secret weapon?! Why didn't stop that Digimon, whoever it was?! You poor excuse for a tuna can!"

Datamon looked through the remnants of his supercomputer. The damage was bad, but it wasn't irreparable. It would take time, but it would eventually be as good as new. And the important thing was that Datamon still had the one thing that would keep the tide in their favor. The disk he had created was still in one piece. He kept it in his possession to ensure its safety.

"Leave ChaosGallantmon be!" Datamon said. He held up the disk. "As long as we have this…the advantage shall remain ours!"

* * *

TK finally opened his eyes. It was the middle of the night. Everyone in the hospital was asleep. The sedative had worn off and the young man was now wide-awake. He tried to sit up, but felt a shot of pain run through his back. It didn't take any more than that to send TK lying back on the bed.

This certainly gave him an opportunity to think. As pain ran through his body, TK thought about how hard he had been hit and how lucky he was to be alive at that moment.

TK looked up at the ceiling and sighed. "Being a DigiDestined never USED to be this hard."

TK closed his eyes as he laid on his back. Suddenly, the door opened. TK sat up, but visibly winced as he did so. He saw a nurse waiting by the door.

The nurse saw TK was awake and turned to someone standing outside the door. "He's awake. You may see him now, Ms. Takaishi."

TK couldn't believe it. Immediately, he thought it was his mother. He never wanted her to find out about this. He started to wonder if Matt was the one who made the call.

That's why it surprised him so much when he saw Kari walk in with a loving smile on her face.

"Kari?"

Kari nodded and giggled. "Yeah…Kari Takaishi…your loving sister."

TK was stunned. "You told them you were my sister?"

"Yeah. It was the only way they would let me in at this hour. They wouldn't let anybody in who wasn't an immediate family member."

TK fell back on his bed, unable to maintain a seated position. "What are you doing here, Kari?"

"I wanted to see if you were ok. I was concerned. TK…what happened?"

TK briefly hesitated. "It was…a Digimon. I was attacked at the campsite. Joe, Kazu, and Kenta eventually reached me, but I was beaten pretty bad by then. I heard Gomamon made it to Mega."

"A Digimon did this to you?" Kari gasped. She clenched her fist. "They were probably looking for me. TK…this is my fault!"

"Don't even go there," TK growled. "This had nothing to do with you."

"But they've been going after me. I never wanted anybody to get hurt. Maybe it would be better if I just gave myself up."

"Not gonna happen!" TK grunted. "I may be here, but there are a bunch of other DigiDestined and Tamers that are willing to step up and fight for you! You can't sacrifice yourself, Kari."

"I don't want anymore people to get hurt!" Kari cried.

"But you don't know what they want you for," TK pointed out. "If you give yourself up, there's a chance MORE people could get hurt."

Kari looked down. "Either way, somebody's getting hurt."

TK smiled. "Might as well be me. You can't say I didn't have it coming. I've made a lot of mistakes lately." He leaned over to kiss Kari on the cheek, but couldn't make it before feeling the stabbing pain in his back. "The biggest one being not trusting you."

Kari stood up. "I didn't come here to talk about that."

TK frowned. "You know I'm sorry about what happened, right? I had a lot of time to think about it. I was stupid. I'm really sorry." He paused. "Our senior prom should have been something really special."

"I have to go."

As Kari started walking away, TK couldn't help but believe he didn't make things better at all. Bringing up bad memories couldn't have possibly eased tensions between the two. And there was no worse memory than the night of their senior prom…when TK and Kari broke up.

"Hey!" TK called out. When Kari turned around, his face brightened. "Thanks for visiting…sis."

Kari giggled. "Get well soon, bro."

TK was never fussy. It didn't take much to get his mind off the pain and seeing his ex-girlfriend visit him was more than enough to make him feel better.

With that, TK would sleep well tonight.

  


Next Week: All's quiet in Odaiba U, so Kazu and Kenta decide to fix that…by throwing the biggest party the freshman dorms have ever seen! The RA's have a busy night ahead of them. Meanwhile, Kari isn't doing much partying, because she's ready to fix things between Gatomon and Renamon once and for all. And it all involves…Tai's motorcycle? Davis isn't doing much partying, either. After all that's happened, he's finally ready to take a stand…and Takato's right there to draw everything that happens. And the villains are ready to panic over the mysterious intruder and they have their eyes on their first suspect! Who is it? Find out on the next Digimon: The College Years!

  


Any comments? Then mail me at AmericanCaptor@hotmail.com and don't forget to review below!


	31. One Last Trial

Last Week: In one final attempt to amend for his failed endeavor at the sorority house, Davis decided to run upstairs and steal a pair of underwear from Rika. He managed to lure Kari out of the room and distract the Digimon, but ran into a roadblock in the form of Calumon and his healthy set of teeth. After getting bitten by Calumon, Davis was caught by Rika, Ryo, and Kari…and that's when the fireworks started. Rika discovered Takato behind the curtain on a ladder…and she promptly pushed it over. Then Kari vented her anger on Davis. Meanwhile, Tai and Matt confronted Yamaki for the first time, but were interrupted when Joe called with the bad news about TK. Kari also got that bad news and rushed over to visit him in the hospital. As for the villains in Server, The Digimon Empress somehow found out about the Juggernaut system and Datamon is now readying a disk that will alter the program completely. That night, however, the villains experienced a major shakeup. A mysterious Digimon broke into the Server base and began wreaking havoc on everything. ChaosGallantmon showed up in the nick of time, but the damage had been done and the villains now have a new problem on their hands. Who is this mysterious Digimon?

  


**Digimon: The College Years**

Episode 31- One Last Trial

  


Kari walked through the door of her dorm at 2 am. The lights were out and everybody seemed to be asleep…except for Jeri, who was diligently working on a paper. She turned around when she saw Kari walk in.

"You usually don't walk in this late," Jeri noted.

"Tonight's an exception," Kari replied sadly. "TK's in the hospital."

Jeri gasped. "He is?! Is he alright?"

Kari nodded. "He's in pretty bad shape, but he'll pull through. He was attacked by a Digimon at the campsite." That's when she realized something. Something hit her like a ton of bricks. "Hey! Jeri…weren't YOU at the campsite?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Then shouldn't you already know that TK's in the hospital? Shouldn't you already know about the Digimon attack?"

Jeri stammered. "Uh…I had to leave the campsite early."

"Why's that?" Kari asked curiously.

"There was something I had to deal with. I'm actually not finished with it. I have to wake up early tomorrow and leave for while."

Kari was ready to pry a little further, but then looked over at her bed. Her pillows were completely destroyed. There were feathers all around her bed. And that wasn't all. There were broken plates around the bed as well as Gatomon's litter box, which was bent beyond repair. And at the foot of Kari's bed was a broken picture frame.

"What happened?!" Kari cried.

Jeri shook her head. "The result of a colossal battle. After everybody emptied out of the room, Renamon and Gatomon completely tore the place down trying to fight each other. By the time I got back, I was just in time to see your pillows explode in a burst of feathers. And yet they both insist they technically didn't lay a finger on each other."

Kari surveyed the damage. She saw her pillows destroyed and her blankets slashed. Kari tapped her bed with a finger. As soon as she did, a spring popped up out of nowhere. Then she saw Renamon lying on Rika's bed with an ice pack on her head. Gatomon was lying on the couch with a bandage around her head. They were both pretty worse for the wear.

"That does it!" Kari huffed. "I've had enough! I can't take this anymore! I'm going to put an end to this fighting once and for all!"

"What do you have in mind?" Jeri asked curiously.

Kari wasn't exactly thinking that far ahead. She knew she wanted to make peace between the two bickering Digimon somehow, but didn't know how to go about doing so. In hopes of getting something going inside her head, she looked out her window.

That's when she got a clear view of the parking lot…and a perfect view of a certain someone riding a motorcycle. It was her brother, Tai. It appeared that he had finally fixed his motorcycle after it was busted by Mephistomon. That's when a light bulb appeared over Kari's head.

"I've got something in mind…"

* * *

If there was one disadvantage to losing the Digimon that were under the influence of the Black Gears, it was that there was nobody around to clean up the mess that was made. The next morning, the Server base was practically in shambles after the mysterious Digimon showed up and went on its rampage. Puppetmon was never the type to clean his toys, so picking up the pieces of this mess was a foreign concept to him.

In the meantime, Datamon was working at his supercomputer, which was still out of order. But the super genius of the Digital World looked to be progressing faster than anybody originally anticipated.

Puppetmon took a break from his cleaning duty to check on his colleague's work. "Isn't that thing up yet?"

"It won't be fully operational for weeks," Datamon responded. "That intruder did quite a number on my machines. However, I have managed to restore our communications link."

"What good does that do us?" Puppetmon asked.

"It means we can still communicate with our other partner in crime. From the report she gave me last night before the attack, she has pinpointed the location of the Juggernaut system. It has been based…in Odaiba University. And if my calculations are correct, she should be downloading the program's data structure onto my disk. Once she returns it to me, I shall successfully reprogram it to do our bidding…and I indeed have the perfect task for it."

"That's good and all…but one more question. What broke in here last night?!"

"That seems to be the 1,000,000 Digi-dollar question. The probability of anybody, human or Digimon, locating our base was approximately 2.4 percent. The probability of anybody actually BREACHING our walls undetected is significantly lower. Discovering our base and breaking in should have been impossible. There is no way the DigiDestined or the Tamers could have found us!"

Puppetmon knew the same thing. None of them knew he and Datamon had been reconfigured and nobody was aware of The Digimon Empress's identity. And supposedly, none of them even knew of a base in Server. Then he started to realize something.

"Wait a second! The ones WE'VE seen supposedly aren't aware of us. What about that weird kid that just showed up one day?"

Datamon paused. "Weird kid?"

"The one with the Cyberdramon. That Cyberdramon made short work of Cherrymon. What if HE did this?"

Datamon thought about that. "The Cyberdramon…he could certainly fit the description of the perpetrator. And we know next to nothing about his Tamer. The notion that they attacked us seems very plausible."

Puppetmon took out his hammer. "Then let's go smash them! We can find somebody to make them pay for all this! There has to be a good Digimon out around Server that we could use."

Datamon paused again. "Good Digimon…out in Server…"

Puppetmon didn't give Datamon the chance to finish his thought. It didn't take long for the demented puppet to think of the Digimon best suited for this task. He grabbed his hammer and started heading out to find that right Digimon for the job…much to Datamon's chagrin.

"Puppetmon! Who's going to clean up this mess?!"

* * *

After what were very hectic weeks on campus, things were finally starting to calm down when the sun rose in Odaiba. But Kazu loved excitement. He liked it when things were lively and couldn't stand it when things got too quiet. Kazu and Kenta were both lying on their beds while MarineAngemon slept in his drawer and Guardromon stood motionless in the corner.

"Where is everybody today?" Kazu asked.

"Not sure," Kenta sighed. "I think Takato's still working on his comic, Henry's working on some homework, TK's still in the hospital, don't know what Ken's doing, and I'm not sure if Davis is in the mood to do anything right now."

"What makes you think Davis isn't in the mood to do anything?"

"Well…I heard this from Rika and Ken, but it's looking like those stunts the frat wanted Davis to pull landed him in pretty hot water with Kari. Last I heard, the poor guy's a wreck."

Kazu bit his lip at the thought of that fraternity. "That stupid frat. They think they're so big with their reputation and all their members. They think they've got such a tight brotherhood. But we're brothers, aren't we, Kenta?"

Kenta nodded. "Two brothers…uh…with different mothers."

"Exactly! If they think they've got it any better than we do, they're dead wrong! In fact…I think it's time we showed Alpha Zeta that we don't need them to make the most of our college experience!"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Kazu reached under his bed and pulled out a notebook that had gathered a lot of dust. Kazu blew the dust off, which went flying over to the open drawer where MarineAngemon was sleeping. The fall of so many grimy particles quickly had the little one sneezing.

Kazu looked through his notebook. "Kenta, what was one of the things we promised to do when we reached college?"

"Uh…not flunk out?"

"Besides that."

"Uh…make sure Guardromon doesn't blow out the walls?"

"Besides that."

"Uh…keep our dorm clean enough so that it doesn't attract wildlife?"

"Besides that! We promised each other we'd throw the wildest party this campus has ever seen!"

"Oh…I remember that!"

"The year's winding down, bud. And we haven't done anything to ensure our legacy."

"You mean stealing a rival school's statue wasn't enough to ensure our legacy?"

Kazu thought about that. "It would for anyone else. But this is US we're talking about. People aren't going to remember Kazu Shiota and Kenta Kitagawa for stealing the Shibuya Samurai statue. If I have anything to say about it, people will remember Kazu Shiota and Kenta Kitagawa for throwing the biggest party in the history of Odaiba University."

Kenta chuckled. "When does it go down?"

"Kenta, throwing the biggest party in the history of Odaiba University isn't something that's going to happen overnight. It's going to take days and maybe weeks of planning ahead. And the first thing we have to do is get the word out. So we'd better get started on making about a hundred…no…a THOUSAND flyers!"

"A thousand? That should take a couple of minutes."

"And then we spread them around…and get ready for the big party. Or better yet…let's make this one good. Let's make this…oh, I don't know…a pajama party!"

"A pajama party?"

"Everyone will be in their pajamas," Kazu said slyly. "Including the girls."

It didn't take long for Kenta to bite on that one. "I like that idea! But Kazu, where are we throwing this party? We can't fit too many people in this room."

"No, no, no. We need more space. That's why I'm thinking…"

Kazu chuckled mischievously. There was only one place he could throw a party to remember.

"…the freshman dorm building."

* * *

Kari couldn't stand another day of Gatomon and Renamon being at each other's throats. Things had escalated too far. She had to do something to stop the insanity before it was too late. Her bed was already a casualty and the repairs would likely come out of her account. But in order for Kari to stop the madness, she had to make a quick stop. She had to stop by her brother's room.

Kari knocked on the door and waited for somebody to answer. She didn't know if Tai was there or not, but things would go a lot easier if he wasn't. Somebody finally opened the door. It wasn't Tai. It was Matt. Kari breathed a sigh of relief.

"I'm glad to see you, Matt. Is Tai around?"

"He hasn't been here all day."

Kari suddenly got a sinking feeling. "Uh…do you happen to know if he took his motorcycle?"

"I think he's in class. His motorcycle's still here, but I think he's got the keys."

"Darn it," Kari grumbled. "I really needed to use that motorcycle."

"Don't tell me Tai's got you riding that thing, too!"

"No, it's not for me! Well, not exactly for me, anyway. It's pretty complicated, but let's just say I have a way to make peace between Gatomon and Renamon and it involves using Tai's motorcycle. But I can't do it if I don't have those keys, so I guess I'll have to hold off."

Matt shook his head. "You don't have to hold off. I've got an idea. Follow me."

Matt stepped out and Kari followed him out of the building. Kari tried not to lose her friend amidst the college crowd, who were all heading to and from class. Matt didn't stop to wait, either. He kept going until he reached the parking lot. And that's when they both reached Tai's motorcycle. It was vehicle that Kari had come to despise, knowing how dangerous it was and the potential for injury it brought. But Kari needed it for this day.

"You want to borrow Tai's motorcycle? The simple thing to do…is hotwire it."

Kari blinked. "Isn't that illegal?"

"Not if Tai doesn't know about it. And I'll make sure he doesn't find out."

Kari reluctantly obliged. "Ok, I'll do it. How do I hotwire this thing?"

Matt placed Kari in position and then walked her through the whole process. He explained each step as he led her hands to the right spots each time. Then Matt held up two wires and motioned for Kari to hold them, one with each hand. Matt then brought Kari's hands and the two wires together. The ignition started.

"Just repeat all that every time you need to start it," Matt said over the roaring engine. "When you're done, just bring it back here and Tai will never know you had it."

Kari stepped up on the seemingly mammoth motorcycle. She had never boarded this monstrosity before and she never pictured herself actually getting on such a thing in her life. Kari struggled to keep her balance and keep from slipping off, but she finally made it on and was in position to ride out.

Even Matt noticed how awkward this looked. "Kari Kamiya on a motorcycle. What's wrong with this picture?"

Kari ignored that. "I'll be back in a few hours."

Kari revved the engine, nearly startling herself in the process. Matt passed her a helmet to ensure her safety, since this would be her first time riding a motorcycle. Once Kari had it on, she went ahead and pressed the accelerator.

"AAAAHHH!!"

The motorcycle took a sudden burst forward and Kari nearly fell off the seat. The vehicle was wilder than she thought. It would be a long ride to the park. But if she wanted to get the Digimon in her room getting along, she'd have to gut it out. So she carefully turned the bike 90 degrees and started riding out…trying her best not to fall off or look foolish.

Matt just shook his head. "Getting more like Tai everyday."

* * *

The past few weeks weren't pleasant ones for Davis. It seemed like such a long time ago since Odaiba's Rush Week started. And at the time, he had only one thing on his mind. He wanted to be a member of the Alpha Zeta fraternity. And he was absolutely willing to do anything necessary to be a part of that brotherhood.

In the weeks since Rush Week, the wannabes were weeded out, including Kazu and Kenta. Davis couldn't believe they decided to quit over something as simple as a skydiving stunt. Weeks after the initiation rituals began, Davis was the only would-be frat brother remaining. And he had done everything asked of him.

Then things went terribly wrong because of one errant panty raid. He had failed to retrieve one pair of underwear from the Delta Gamma sorority house. Then everything went even worse when Davis tried to get a pair of Rika's underwear from her room. The means by which he tried to get them were what did him in.

He had gotten around to thinking about it. That day was actually the first time he had spoken with Kari in weeks. He saw exactly why she had been so hurt. The first time he had given her any attention in a long time and it was just to distract her while he went out for that stupid fraternity. Davis had put Alpha Zeta over Kari…and he didn't realize it until it was too late.

That's when Davis decided he had finally had enough. He couldn't take it anymore. The rituals had taken their toll on him and he wasn't going to endure anymore punishment. And he wasn't about to do anything else now that the frat had affected his relationship with Kari.

So he stormed to the frat house. Usually, Davis came here to get a briefing on his next initiation ritual, but this time he was here for something far different. Davis stormed through the front door and immediately spotted the usual suspects. The ponytail and the buzzcut were casually sitting on the living room couch, reading through the Dragon Daily, Odaiba U's school newspaper.

With his nose buried in the paper, the ponytail chuckled. "This comic rules! This Goggle Man sounds like some other doofus I've met."

Davis cleared his throat.

The ponytail raised his head and put the paper down. "Ah, Davis! We've been waiting for you."

"Yeah, I'll bet you have. I've got something to…uh…you got my name right!"

"Of course we got your name right! We never butcher the name of a brother."

Davis blinked. "A brother?"

"We heard about the results of your attempted panty raid," the buzzcut explained. "To say the least, we were very disappointed that you came back completely empty-handed. I mean, even a kindergartner could come back with a pair of women's underwear. Your failure to retrieve a single pair of panties shamed our fraternity greatly."

"But then we heard about what else happened over there," the ponytail continued. "I mean, you TOTALLY saw one of those Delta Gamma girls in the shower. That's classic! So how did she look? They weren't fake or anything, were they?"

Davis tried to cut this interrogation off. "Uh…she didn't actually come out…"

"Eh, we'll talk about that later," the ponytail interrupted. "You can tell that story at one of our awesome frat parties! And you're definitely getting in now that you're a part of Alpha Zeta!"

Davis didn't know what to say. "So…even though I didn't bring anything back…I'm still in?"

"You earned it, Davis!" the ponytail grinned. "You did everything asked of you and more. Total loyalty to your brothers is what we look for in an Alpha Zeta. You're going to make a great brother and we're proud to finally make you a member of our prestigious fraternity. Congratulations!"

The buzzcut reached over and tossed Davis a sweater. "Here is your official sweater. Wear this proudly and guard it with your life. And make sure it doesn't shrink in the laundry."

Davis caught the sweater like a pro and then just stared at it. This had been what he worked so hard for. He couldn't believe he was finally holding the letters of Alpha Zeta in his very hands. He had done it. He was officially a fraternity brother. His perseverance had paid off.

He had suddenly forgotten what he had gone there to do in the first place.

"Our first party is this Friday," the buzzcut said. "You'll be there, won't you, Davis?"

Davis was completely caught off-guard. He didn't know what to say, except…

"Yeah! I'll be there!"

* * *

Takato peeked in through the window of the frat house and couldn't believe what he was seeing. He was hoping to see something worth drawing, but what he was looking at wasn't funny at all. After all he had heard from Davis these past few days, he was shocked to see him just accept the sweater so easily. A few minutes later, Davis started walking out. Takato decided to head him off.

When Davis was out the door and walking away, Takato called out.

"Davis!"

Davis turned around and was obviously surprised to see his goggled counterpart there. "Takato? What are you doing here?"

Takato didn't answer that. Instead, he just pointed out the obvious. "Nice sweater."

Davis looked down at the Alpha Zeta sweater he was now donning. "Oh…yeah…I got in! I finally made it!"

"You sound awfully proud of yourself," Takato grumbled. "You tried to steal Rika's underwear, you alienated Kazu and Kenta, you used Kari, and I took lumps that should have been yours. But hey, you made it into that frat, and I guess that's all that matters, right?"

Davis frowned. "What's all that supposed to mean? What are you saying?"

"Do you remember the first day I met you?" Takato demanded.

"How could I forget? You nearly took my head off for slamming that door on your nose."

"No, you slam the door on my nose EVERYDAY. I'm talking about something else. Remember the first day we met? Remember what you told me about Kari?"

"Yeah, I told you I'm madly in love with her."

"That's not what I'm seeing," Takato shot back. "These days, you seem to be more in love with that fraternity of yours."

"That's not true!" Davis shouted.

"Oh yeah? Just a few hours ago, you were moping around because you realized what a jerk you had been. You finally got it through your head that MAYBE a fraternity wasn't worth the price of your friendships…and your new relationship with Kari. You were telling me how much it killed you that after all that effort to get Kari to finally like you, you were throwing it away over a fraternity. You told me that Kari meant more to you than Alpha Zeta ever would and you were willing to admit it. But I guess that sweater you're wearing says differently. I guess it says that it IS ok to step over your friends to get what you want."

Davis scoffed. "I guess you would know. You AND Goggle Man."

Takato stopped in his tracks. At that moment, he realized he had been caught.

Davis went on. "You want to talk about stepping over your friends to get what you want? Let's talk about you! I don't know what you might have thought when you met me and talked to my friends, but I'm going to clear something up for you, Takato. I might mess up once in a while, I'm definitely not perfect, and sure…some things might not go exactly like I hope and even though I have good intentions, things tend to blow up in my face. But despite all that, I'm NOT stupid! I know when someone's making fun of me! And I know when someone's making a parody out of me in a campus-wide newspaper! It didn't take me long to think something was up, but I didn't want to jump to any conclusions. But you pretty much confirmed everything for me when I saw you on that ladder holding up your notebook. I can't believe you followed me! Just to see if you can imitate my life through art!"

Takato was stuck. "That day on the ladder…"

"Yeah, I'm sure you weren't supposed to get caught. But did you think you could hide that from me forever? How long did you think you could go on before I'd find out? I can't believe you even did that in the first place without telling me. I thought we were friends!"

And that silenced Takato. Here he was accusing Davis of sacrificing his friends for his own needs…and yet Takato was doing the very same thing. He felt like a jerk.

Davis turned around to leave. "I guess the only thing we have in common is our taste in goggles."

Takato knew he should have said something. He should have apologized at the very least, but Takato was in no position to say anything. He had messed up bad.

Goggle Man had been exposed…and it had cost him a good friend.

* * *

As the day went on, Kari knew exactly how to put an end to all this bickering between Gatomon and Renamon. She rode the motorcycle to the parking lot in Odaiba park and found a relatively empty section to park in. After she brought the motorcycle to a stop, she grabbed her cell phone and made a call. She needed to call her trusting roommate and partner-in-crime.

"Pick up, Rika," Kari muttered to herself.

_"Hello?"_

"Rika? You all set?"

_"They're both in the backseat. Kari, what's your plan? You still haven't told me."_

"You'll see what my plan is as soon as you get everyone here. Just bring them over and I'll explain everything."

Kari hung up her cell phone and waited for the familiar sight of Rika's car. It didn't take long for it to come into view. After Rika arrived and parked the car, she stepped out and looked over at Kari…and what she was standing next to.

"Kari, is that what I think it is?"

Instead of answering, Kari called out to the Digimon. "Gatomon, Renamon, could you two come out here?"

Gatomon came out first and gasped when she saw what her partner was standing next to. "Kari…is that Tai's motorcycle?"

"You bet it is. I've got a little something for you and Renamon to do."

That's when Renamon appeared out of thin air behind Rika. "Rika, what is going on?"

"She's obviously got something for you to do," Rika smirked. "What do you want them to do, Kari?"

"That depends," Kari answered with a wink of her eye. "Do you have our OTHER friend in there?"

"It took some effort, but I managed to bring him in, too," Rika replied.

Rika reached into the car and pulled out the next guest. It was Impmon…who was tied up.

"HEY, LEMME GO, YA LOUSY HUMANS!! I GOT ENOUGH OF THIS GARBAGE FROM AI AND MAKO!! NO FAIR!! YOUSE HAD BETTER UNTIE ME!!"

"He hasn't stopped complaining," Rika sighed. "But at least we got him here, tied up just like you asked. NOW will you tell me what your plan is?"

Kari didn't say anything. Instead, she just grabbed the squirming Impmon and led him over to a nearby tree. She tossed the rope up over a branch and pulled Impmon up and left him dangling like a piñata.

"What did I do to deserve this?" Impmon grumbled.

"I think you know the answer to that," Kari shot back.

Impmon sweatdropped. "Uh…I don't know what yer talkin about."

Kari shook her head. "Denial to the bitter end." She looked over at Gatomon and Renamon and brought back her cheerful smile. "I know you two have been arguing repeatedly about who's the better Digimon. Well, I want to go ahead and leave it to one last competition, winner take all."

Gatomon just tilted her head. "Uh…ok…what do we do?"

"Very simple. You see Impmon hanging from a tree over there. I want to see which one of you can retrieve him the fastest."

"A time trial," Renamon clarified. "Sounds interesting."

"It gets more interesting…considering you have to use the motorcycle to do it."

Gatomon's jaw dropped. "You want us to use THAT THING?"

"I've had my fill of motorcycles in the Digital World," Renamon added.

"If you two are as good as you say you are, then I'm sure you won't have a problem mastering a motorcycle. Now I have my stopwatch with me, so I'll be timing you. Whoever brings back Impmon in the fastest time will be the winner. Sound fair?"

Gatomon tapped the motorcycle with the tip of her claw. "I don't know…"

"Oh, step aside, cat," Renamon scoffed. "I'll go first, just so you can see how it's done."

Renamon stepped onto the motorcycle while Kari walked over to hotwire the ignition one more time. Rika inched over to Kari and whispered into her ear.

"Kari, I'm not seeing the point to this. What exactly is this supposed to accomplish?"

"You'll see. Just be patient," Kari responded. "Oh, and one more thing, Renamon. You have to get Impmon down WITHOUT getting off the motorcycle."

Renamon hesitated before finally nodding. "Done. Shouldn't be a problem for me."

Once Kari hotwired the ignition, she stepped aside and let Renamon give it her best shot. She revved the engine and started moving forward while Kari started her stopwatch. The motorcycle picked up velocity as Renamon inched closer to Impmon. She was ready to get him down, but nearly forgot she couldn't get off the motorcycle. So she stayed on, trying to keep the bike's balance, but found it very difficult. She couldn't get Impmon down and passed him up completely. The only contact she made with him had him spinning around.

To get Impmon, Renamon would now have to turn the other way. So she got good hold of the motorcycle and made a perfect 180 degree turn. She rode towards Impmon again, who was noticeably closing his eyes. Renamon stood up on the seat, amazingly keeping the motorcycle's balance, and cut the rope the only way she knew how.

"Diamond Storm!"

Renamon's Diamond Storm attack cut the rope and Impmon came falling down right onto the back of the motorcycle. After getting Impmon, Renamon rode back and brought the bike to a complete stop.

Kari stopped her watch. "Four minutes, thirteen seconds."

Renamon stepped off the motorcycle. "Let's see you beat that, furball."

Kari picked the dizzied Impmon up and dragged him by the arm. "Ok, let's get you in position again."

"I'm gonna fry youse," Impmon slurred. "Uh…all three of youse."

Rika handed Kari an extra rope and she started to tie up Impmon.

"Too bad it had to come to this," Kari said casually. "You two were getting along so well until you decided to start fighting again. It's really a shame. This wouldn't be happening if you two had nothing to fight about. I just can't believe you two couldn't just get along. I wonder why you two had to start fighting again? If you hadn't done this, we wouldn't have to be hanging Impmon by a rope."

Impmon's eyes widened. "Wait! So yer sayin this is all 'cause those two are fightin?"

"That's right. I can't believe Renamon had to go and cover Gatomon with feathers and I can't believe Gatomon had to stuff glue in Renamon's sandwich."

"Wait! They didn't do nothing!" Impmon cried. "That was all me! I did all that!"

Gatomon and Renamon both turned beet red. "WHAT?!"

"I'm the one who covered the cat in feathers and I'm the one who put glue in Renamon's sandwich. Now unite me already! I'm a Digimon, not a piñata!"

Kari giggled. "I was hoping to squeeze all that out of you." She looked over at her roommate. "And that…was my plan. Worked just like I hoped it would."

Rika didn't understand quite everything. "Wait…explain your whole plan to me."

"I saw everything that was going on lately. Somehow, I knew Gatomon and Renamon sincerely wanted to be friends and I believed them when they each claimed they were innocent. There was only one thing Gatomon's feathering and Renamon's sandwich had in common and that was Impmon. He was around just as everything happened and in both cases, he was the first one on the scene.

"But even seeing all this, I had no evidence. So I practiced a little something I used to practice with my older brother in our later years. I got a confession out of him. And using him as a tool in a competition between Gatomon and Renamon was all it took to get him to confess."

"I'm impressed, Miss Perfect," Rika smiled. "Your plan went off without a hitch."

Renamon angrily stepped towards Impmon. "Impmon, explain yourself."

"Yeah, what's the big idea?" Gatomon demanded.

"I'll tell ya what the big idea was!" Impmon growled. "I didn't want to go through months of seeing you two all friendly. I liked things the way they were…at least until THIS happened."

Renamon sighed. "Impmon, Gatomon and I will ALWAYS be in competition with each other."

Gatomon nodded…and stopped. "Huh? We will?"

"Of course we will. I'll always know that I'm the superior Digimon and you'll always THINK you're the better Digimon. Nothing about that will change."

Gatomon nodded again. "I guess you're right. I'll always know I'm better than you."

"The point I'm making is…" Renamon said, ignoring Gatomon, "our competition will never end. The only difference is…she and I will put our age-old grudge aside."

Impmon scoffed. "Sounds like some of that human mush I hate so much."

"Be that as it may, it will do you no good to attempt to drive a wedge between us again," Renamon said. "The cat has proven herself as a good roommate and a fierce warrior on the battlefield. I'm proud to call her a friend."

Gatomon was taken aback. "You mean that? We're friends?"

"Don't push it."

Rika snickered. Her partner really took after her. With everything seemingly cleared up, Kari knew there was only one thing left to get out in the open.

Kari cleared her throat. "Ok, so now that we've established who the real culprit is, don't you two think some apologies are in order?"

Renamon hung her head down and begrudgingly apologized. "Ok…I'm sorry I accused you of putting glue in my sandwich."

Gatomon followed suit. "I'm sorry I accused you of covering me in feathers."

Kari crossed her arms. "AND…?!"

Renamon and Gatomon both sighed and delivered their next apology in unison. "I'm sorry I tried to beat you into a bloody pulp yesterday."

Kari smiled. "There! Now we can all get along!"

"There's just one thing I don't understand, Kari," Rika noted. "I understand everything you wanted to do, but…did we really need Tai's motorcycle?"

"No," Kari admitted. She grinned wryly. "I just wanted to take it for a ride. I was hoping to see what exactly about it my brother liked so much."

"Bad girl," Rika smirked. "So did you like it?"

A motorcycle ride was interesting to say the least. It really was exciting. But Kari wasn't about to admit that.

"I'll admit…MAYBE it gave me a rush."

* * *

"Come on, Sora!"

"No! Stop it! I don't want to!"

"Just do it, Sora."

"Matt, 'no' means 'NO'!"

Over in Sora's room, Matt wasn't getting anywhere. He didn't know what else he could do, but Sora obviously wasn't in the mood. But he wasn't about to give up. She'd give in eventually.

"Sora…"

"Matt, NO! I am NOT taking my hat off!"

Sora stubbornly tightened the hat on her head. It's been several weeks since the shampoo Mimi concocted left her bald and Matt was eager to see if any of her hair was growing back.

"You can't wear hats forever," Matt sighed.

"Sure I can. That's the beauty of having Mimi for a roommate."

"You're being ridiculous," Matt groaned. "Mimi, tell Sora she's being ridiculous."

"I don't know, Matt," Mimi said unconfidently. "You know how I get when it comes to a bad hair day. I can only imagine how Sora must be feeling."

Matt obviously wasn't going to get help from Mimi, so he played another card. "Sora, how long have we been together?"

"Years."

"Exactly. So you shouldn't worry about what I think. Now take that hat off."

"MATT!"

Matt reached over to take Sora's hat off, but the young girl put up a struggle. She even bit Matt's finger. He let out a pained yell, but he didn't give up. Eventually, he reached over with his good hand and got a good grip on Sora's hat, but she wasn't about to let go.

"Sora, let go!"

"No!"

"Will you let go?"

"NO! Matt!"

Biyomon, who was sitting against the wall, casually examined her wing. "Looks like they're at it again."

Palmon examined one of her vines. "I haven't seen Sora this stubborn since the time Matt accidentally pushed her in the pool."

Matt pulled as hard as he could, but Sora had grown surprisingly strong. He didn't think someone could get so strong playing tennis. Matt continued to pull until he finally overpowered Sora. The hat came flying…and so did Matt. He flew back until he hit his head on the wall.

Matt rubbed his head. "Ok, that hurt a little bit."

Then Matt realized he had Sora's hat in his hand. He had succeeded in pulling it off. He then looked over…to see that some of Sora's hair had really grown back. Her hair was short in length, but it was growing back nicely. A head of short blond hair was actually rather appealing to Matt.

Matt smiled. "That's…not a bad look for you."

Sora smiled back. "You think so?"

That's when someone knocked on the door. Mimi was more than eager to answer it.

"Ok, I'd better answer that before a romance novel breaks out."

Mimi walked over to answer the door and was surprised to see the Resident Director, Ms. Mackenzie. Matt and Sora knew it was time for business. They still had jobs to do.

Ms. Mackenzie looked around. "Oh good. I managed to catch three of you here. I'm sure you can relay what I'm about to tell you to Tai."

"Something up, Ms. Mackenzie?" Sora asked.

"Just this."

Ms. Mackenzie held up a flyer and handed it to Sora. The three RA's then gathered around it to see what it was. It was a flyer advertising a big party for next Friday.

"Hmm…looks like fun," Mimi said cheerfully.

"Read the rest of it," Ms. Mackenzie sighed.

Everyone kept reading the flyer. Matt was the first one to find the kink that Ms. Mackenzie wanted to bring to their attention. The flyer was advertising the party for…the freshman dorm building.

"OHHHHHHHH…" the three RA's breathed in unison.

"I would hate to completely reject the idea of a party. After all, I was young once and I can understand the need to let loose once in a while. But you can all understand what a danger this may pose and the potential liabilities we face."

"So what do we do?" Matt asked.

"I'm not going to stop this from happening," Ms. Mackenzie replied. "Not only because of the whole need to let loose, but also because we don't know exactly who's throwing the party. There's only one thing we can do. We need every RA to be alert and patrolling the whole building to make sure things don't get out of control. You're going to have to be on your toes."

Matt didn't like the sound of that. Next Friday looked to be a chaotic night. The girls also had worried looks on their faces.

Ms. Mackenzie turned to walk out. "But I'm sure you're all more than capable of handling everything on your own. Consider this a test of your ability to take control."

"Uh…aren't you helping us?" Mimi asked.

"I may be forced to take a trip home next week. If it comes to that, you're all on your own."

Matt and the girls glanced at each other nervously. They didn't know what to expect next week. And with the possibility of Ms. Mackenzie being away, things had the potential to turn disastrous.

"I won't take up anymore of your time," Ms. Mackenzie said. "I'll go ahead and go. And tell TK I wish him the best. Hope he's out of the hospital soon."

"Oh…thanks," Matt replied.

Sora smiled after Ms. Mackenzie left. "Well…looks like there's going to be a party here next week. And the flyer says it's a pajama party. Sounds like fun."

"But what if things get out of control?" Matt pointed out.

"Then we have to take charge," Sora answered. "We aren't little kids anymore. We have to take charge. Right, Mimi? Uh…Mimi?"

Mimi had her attention elsewhere. "She wants us to wish TK the best…"

Matt shrugged. "Yeah, so?"

"How does she know TK's in the hospital?"

Silence. That was a very good question. TK being in the hospital was a fairly recent occurrence and it wasn't something that had spread around campus. In fact, other than the dean, TK's professors, and his friends, nobody else even knew he was in the hospital.

Mimi shifted her eyes. "Joe's right. There's something weird about that woman."

* * *

Puppetmon searched up and down the Digital World, but finally came to a stop in an arbitrary position in the Server desert. Somehow, he knew this would be a good place to find his playmate.

"Hey! It's me! I could use a playmate right about now! Where are you?"

A ray of light suddenly shot down from the sky. Out of the light came a white, metallic skinned Digimon with a round, elliptical head with many metallic tentacles for feet and four metallic tentacles for arms. He held up two space-age ray guns and had many wires running through his head. This was the extraterrestrial Mega Digimon known as Ebemon.

"Glad you showed up," Puppetmon said. "I've got a job for you…"

  


Next Week: The party gets started in the Odaiba freshman dorms. Kazu and Kenta look to cement their legacies by throwing a huge pajama party! But with that party coming on the same night as the Alpha Zeta party, Kazu and Kenta have some competition…including their old friend, Davis. The RA's will have a tough night ahead of them, as they'll have to keep order. How wild will the younger DigiDestined and Tamers get? Find out on the next Digimon: The College Years!

  


Any comments? Then mail me at AmericanCaptor@hotmail.com and don't forget to review below!


	32. The Pajama Party

Last Week: After seeing the result of a melee between Gatomon and Renamon, Kari had decided to put an end to the feud once and for all. She borrowed Tai's motorcycle for what looked to be one last competition between the two bickering Digimon, but it was actually an elaborate ruse set up to get Impmon to confess to committing the earlier misdeeds. Davis had gone to the Alpha Zeta house with the intention of putting the fraternity in its place, but when he was offered membership, he easily forgot what he even went there for. Takato tried to talk some sense to him, but soon found out that Davis had discovered Goggle Man…and their friendship proceeded to fall apart. Datamon and Puppetmon cleaned up the remains of their base that had been trashed while naming their first suspect: Cyberdramon and Ryo. While Datamon continued his preparations to corrupt the Juggernaut program, Puppetmon went to the deserts of Server to recruit his next partner in crime: the extraterrestrial Mega Digimon known as Ebemon. And last but not least, Kazu and Kenta decided to go through with one of their biggest fantasies since hitting the college scene. They're throwing the biggest party Odaiba University has ever seen…a pajama party…inside the freshman dorms. But does that bode well for the Resident Advisors who are supposed to be on duty that night?

  


**Digimon: The College Years**

Episode 32- The Pajama Party

  


After spending several nights in the hospital, TK finally got some good news. He heard something he had been waiting to hear since he was first checked in when the nurse came in with her clipboard.

"Mr. Takaishi, you appear to be in good shape and you've recuperated much faster than originally anticipated. I'm very pleased to say you've made a full recovery. You can go ahead and check out tonight and go home."

That was the best news anybody could have given TK. After being away from his studies for a little more than a week, this didn't turn out nearly as bad as it could have. He could easily catch up without any problem. And he couldn't wait to see Patamon and his friends again. Every night at the hospital felt like an eternity and he couldn't stand being there another night.

"Did you want me to call anybody to come get you?" the nurse asked. "Your parents? Your brother? Your sister?"

TK was tempted to have the nurse call Matt or his "sister" Kari to come get him. But he didn't say anything right away. Instead, he thought about something else.

"Uh…that won't be necessary. I'll catch a cab back to the university, but thanks anyway."

Nobody knew TK had been cleared from the hospital…and TK wanted it to stay that way. He wanted to surprise everybody with his return and it couldn't timed any better than a Friday night.

TK laid back on his bed and looked up at the ceiling. "I just wonder if I missed anything?"

* * *

Kazu and Kenta, standing around their room, didn't have a lot of time to get prepared for tonight's party. Flyers were distributed throughout campus and it was safe to say the whole student body was aware of tonight's party. The only that had Kazu a little worried…was the lack of buzz created by the flyers. Tonight's pajama party didn't seem to be a hot topic, but he believed that everyone knew about it and tonight's party would undoubtedly have a tremendous turnout.

Kazu looked around. "Ok, we got all the flyers out, we're set to have music blasting from seven stereos, we've got a smoke machine coming in…"

"Smoke machine?" Kenta cut in.

"Of course! These days, parties need stuff like smoke machines. It livens up the party. Now we've got the smoke machine, subwoofers, lights…anything else we're forgetting?"

"Uh…space?"

"We've got more than enough space," Kazu said assuredly. "We have both floors at our disposal. Space shouldn't even be an issue."

"But Kazu, what about the RA's? You know we'll get in trouble for this, right?"

"Hey, they haven't opposed anything yet," Kazu pointed out. "Come on, Kenta. You know I feel just as bad as you do that tonight will likely have the RA's on their toes. But we can't make an omelet without cracking a few eggs. One write-up is worth all the notoriety we're going to get from throwing this party."

Kenta sighed. "You'd better be right about that."

"Of course I'm right! Tonight, our names go down in history. Now is there anything else we're forgetting?"

"What should *I* do?" Guardromon asked.

Kazu thought about that. "If we need an extra smoke machine or some extra lights, I'll let you know. Other than that, we won't really be needing a big android tonight. Just don't move, no matter what. I don't want you exposing yourself tonight."

"Don't move," Guardromon repeated. "Got it."

Kazu knew it was time to start preparing for the party, so he opened his closet door. What was usually filled with clothes was now filled with party supplies. The closet was filled with dozens of lights and a smoke machine that needed to be assembled.

"Help me put this thing together, Kenta," Kazu said. "By the time we get done with this, the speakers will probably be delivered."

Kenta sat over and helped Kazu get started on assembling the smoke machine. Time was on their side, as they both had the entire day to put the contraption together for tonight's big party.

* * *

Matt looked at his watch. "Where's Tai?!"

The party that was being hyped throughout the school was just a few hours away. With Ms. Mackenzie heading home for the weekend, all Resident Advisors needed to be alert and prepared to take charge at a moment's notice. They also needed to be present. Tai Kamiya was nowhere to be found on this day and that had Matt feeling concerned. The RA's were all meeting in Sora and Mimi's room to talk over tonight's game plan, but Tai was not there.

"He knows we'll need him! Where is he?"

Sora adjusted her hat. "His classes are all over. He could be anywhere."

Matt clenched his fist. "Just wait and see what I'll do to him if he ditches us. I'm gonna…"

"Matt, if it makes you feel any better, I'll go out and look for Tai," Mimi suggested.

"Do you even know where to start looking for him?" Matt pointed out.

"Don't worry about it," Mimi assured him. "I have my cell phone here. If I need anything or if I find Tai, I'll call you guys. I shouldn't be out too long." She looked over at her partner by the wall. "You stay here, Palmon. I'll be back in a little while."

Palmon simply nodded while Mimi headed out the door. That left Matt alone with Sora, Biyomon, and Palmon. Somehow, Matt got a bad feeling that Mimi wouldn't be coming back.

"I know that look," Sora muttered. "She'll be back."

* * *

Mimi kept going until she was out of the freshman dorm building. She didn't have the slightest idea where to start looking for Tai. But before she could even begin her search, somebody else found her.

"Mimi! I'm glad I found you!"

Mimi turned to her left to see that Joe was walking towards the door. She didn't expect to run into him, but she was glad to see him. Perhaps he had an idea where Tai was.

"Joe, I need to…"

"Is it true, Mimi? Is Ms. Mackenzie gone for the weekend?"

Mimi nodded. "Yeah. She said she had some business she needed to tend to…"

"I still think she knows something," Joe interrupted. "And the best way to find out is by following her. Has she left yet?"

"She was about to leave in a few minutes. Joe, are you sure that's such a good idea? We already had Palmon and Biyomon search her room and all they found was a journal."

"But they said there was something strange about it," Joe pointed out. "And I still think there's something strange about her. The only way I'll know for sure is by keeping an eye on her, but I can't do it alone. Come with me, Mimi."

Mimi sighed. "Joe, I don't know about this." Then she thought about something. "Besides…there really IS something else I should be doing. If only I could remember what it is…"

"Come on, Mimi! You're always complaining that we don't spend enough time together anymore. Well, this is your big chance."

"Yeah, but I meant a romantic walk on the beach, a candlelight dinner, or watching the sunrise together, not spying on Ms. Mackenzie."

"Spying is such an ugly word. I prefer to call it 'keeping a close surveillance'."

Mimi thought about that. "Well…I guess that's a colorful way to put it. But I still don't know…"

Joe took Mimi by the arm and started walking her out. "Come on! I get the feeling we're about to get a lot of answers! Let's go!"

Before Mimi could get another word in, Joe was dragging her out. She knew she shouldn't be going along with this…especially since she knew there was something important she was supposed to be doing. She just couldn't remember what.

* * *

Tai kept his cell phone on "vibrate", ignoring it every time it rang. He realized that Matt didn't even know where he was, but Tai figured it was best to keep this a secret from everybody. It was obvious he wasn't going to get any answers regarding the Digimon situation from the agents on campus…unless he caught them off-guard.

Earlier that day, Tai saw Yamaki walking out of his final class and walking towards his car. That's when he got an idea. By spying on Yamaki, Tai had a chance to get some answers.

So when Yamaki left, Tai followed behind him on his motorcycle. What he didn't expect was for it to be such a long ride. Tai didn't even know where he was and there were two or three different occasions where he nearly lost Yamaki's car amongst the traffic. He kept his focus as much as he could, but he couldn't help but notice a road sign that stood out.

Tai bit his lower lip. "Now entering West Shinjuku."

After passing by that sign, Tai brought his eyes back to the road…and to Yamaki's car. Another ten minutes passed before Yamaki finally exited the highway and onto a lone road. Tai made sure to keep up as Yamaki drove down the road towards a warehouse in the middle of the business district. The warehouse was empty, but if there was anything Tai had learned from reading political thrillers, it was that an empty warehouse could often times be so much more than they appear to be.

Yamaki's car entered the parking structure while Tai got the idea to find another parking space. He parked by a meter and fastened his motorcycle to it with a chain. He spared no expense when it came to the security of his motorcycle. With his mode of transportation safe, Tai started walking towards the warehouse, but thought about how he could get in without being seen. That's when he got an idea.

Tai walked in through the warehouse's front door. Sure enough, despite it being a supposedly empty warehouse, Tai met up with a hefty security guard.

"Do you have clearance to go through here?"

"Of course I do," Tai said nonchalantly. "I'm the local intern from Odaiba University. I was just hired yesterday."

The security guard scratched his beard. "I don't remember hearing anything about them hiring an intern."

"I don't think informing the security guard's really high on the priorities list," Tai pointed out.

"You're probably right. Go on in."

Tai was surprised at how easy that was. Without any resistance from the guard, Tai casually made his way in through the next set of double doors. He saw a giant mainframe with a network of computers wired to it. He also saw a crew of programmers hard at work on each computer. Tai's jaw nearly dropped open at the sight. He didn't expect to see that.

The crew was so wrapped up in their work that they didn't even notice Tai walk in. Realizing he had entered unnoticed, Tai went straight to the next room and found an empty office. He saw the name "Mitsuo Yamaki" on the desk.

Tai wandered around and immediately noticed how nice the office was. Potted plants, frame after frame of credentials and awards, and a door leading to a private bathroom all made up Yamaki's office. Tai hoped to make it this far someday.

Suddenly, Tai heard something outside. He heard footsteps approaching the office. Not knowing where else to go, Tai rushed into the bathroom and shut the door. As soon as he shut the bathroom door, he heard someone walk into the office.

"It's going along well," a female voice said.

"What did you expect?" a second female voice asked. "The Monster Makers have the most experience of anybody we know. If anybody can get the Juggernaut program working, it's them."

"But time is a luxury we don't have," Yamaki pointed out. "I'd like for them to be ready before the next Digimon attack."

"Sir, are you sure we should just rush in?" that second female voice asked. "You know how powerful the Juggernaut program is. It needs to be tested. What if there are serious side effects? What if we lose the Digimon, like last time?"

Tai's eyes widened when he heard that. What did she mean by that?

"That's a risk we'll have to take," Yamaki replied. "We still don't know the motive for targeting the Kamiya girl. We can't take any chances. We have to use everything at our disposal to stop the threat and if that means losing the Digimon, then so be it. Talley, I trust you haven't told you-know-who?"

"I haven't told Izzy. But I still think we should. This is something he should know about."

"Just remember. This is between us. That's an order."

Tai couldn't believe it. He knew they were hiding something from him, but he had no idea it was something of this magnitude. Whatever this Juggernaut thing was, it was obviously going to pose some kind of danger to the Digimon, and Tai just couldn't let that happen.

Before he could learn anymore, an alarm started to go off.

"That's the fire alarm," Yamaki grumbled. "Clear everybody out!"

It didn't take long for everyone in the warehouse to evacuate the building. Of course, if Tai evacuated along with them, he'd be caught. So he waited in the bathroom…hoping there wasn't a REAL fire in the building.

Five minutes passed and the alarms were still going off. But Tai couldn't hear anymore voices, so he assumed it was safe to come out of the bathroom. He slowly stepped out and decided to find the nearest exit. But as he walked out of the office, he noticed someone was standing by the mainframe, installing a piece of hardware. At first, Tai thought he'd be caught. But then he got a closer look at that person, who had his back to him.

This person was dressed in the garb of the old Digimon Emperor. Tai began to recall the e-mail that Agumon and Gabumon had sent months ago. This had to be that Digimon Empress they were referring to.

Tai knew this was it. This was the woman who was spearheading the operation to bring the Digimon into the real world and kidnap his sister. She was right in front of him. He was looking right at her. He knew what he had to do. Tai advanced towards her. But he didn't get far, because she soon turned around, her locks of blond hair whipping around behind her back.

Tai gasped. "I know you!"

The Digimon Empress never expected to be caught, but she acted fast. She tossed down a metallic ball which exploded in a torrent of smoke. Tai coughed and fell to his knees. When the smoke cleared, she was gone.

Tai wiped his eyes and scowled. And it wasn't just because he saw the woman who was after his sister, but also…

…because he knew her.

* * *

The frat house was empty for the moment, but that would change by the end of the night. Tonight was a big party for Alpha Zeta and Davis felt happy to be a part of it. Or at least he thought he felt happy. There was something that was getting him down.

"Cheer up, Davis!" the ponytail said from a distance. "Tonight's our big party! It'll TOTALLY be a blast!"

Davis turned away from everyone and frowned. He knew exactly why he was down in the dumps. He was thinking about Kari. He couldn't get her off his mind. He knew how badly he had messed up…and he did it all for that sweater he was wearing.

He had to do something. He grabbed his cell phone and dialed Kari's number. The phone rang four times before Kari's voicemail picked up. Davis then left a message.

"Kari, it's Davis. Look, I know you're upset and I don't blame you. I know you think I went too far, but I just want you to see my side of the story. I mean…I'm proud to be an Alpha Zeta now! This was worth it! And I want you to see that! I want you to come to tonight's party. Come out and have fun with me, Kari. You'll have a great time, I promise. And maybe you'll see what I see. I'll wait by the door for you."

Davis ended his message and hung up his phone. He knew there was nothing else he could do except wait…and hope that Kari showed up.

* * *

Matt peeked outside the door. There were lights all over the ceilings. The wall was lined up with a big smoke machine. And a huge turntable was placed right by the front door. The first partygoers were arriving, meaning this party was about to get started…which didn't sit well with Matt at all. After waiting the whole day, there were only two RA's remaining.

"Where's Tai?!" he growled. "Where's MIMI, for that matter?"

Sora looked out the window. "Ok, NOW I'm starting to get worried. Have you tried Tai's cell phone?"

"I tried, but he's not answering! I'm going to kill him!"

"But I don't get it. I thought at the very least, Mimi would be back by now. What could have happened to her?"

As if on cue, Matt's phone rang. Matt reached over, but Sora slapped his hand away and answered the phone herself.

"Hello? **…** Mimi, where are you?! The party's about to start! We need you here! **…** Huh? **…** WHAT?! **…** What do you mean you're in Reedington?! **…** You're doing WHAT?! **…** Mimi, you were supposed to be looking for TAI! **…** What do you mean you forgot! **…** NO, we haven't found him! **…** Mimi, your cell phone is NOT going out! Don't pull that 'I'm going through a tunnel' trick on me! Hello? Hello? Mimi!"

Sora slammed the phone down. Matt interpreted that to be bad news.

Sora confirmed it for him. "Mimi's in Reedington! She's miles from here!"

"What? WHY?!"

"Joe dragged her on some stupid mission to spy on Ms. Mackenzie. Mimi completely forgot she was supposed to be looking for Tai."

Matt peeked out the door again. More partygoers were arriving…and the time was getting closer.

Sora gulped. "Does this mean what I think it does?"

Matt nodded. "Yeah…it's just us."

* * *

A lot of people were showing up to the frat house, but even what was sure to be the biggest frat party of the year wouldn't be enough to comfort Davis if Kari didn't show up. He couldn't blame her if she didn't.

Davis stood by the door and partygoers were quickly mistaking him for the guy who was supposed to be taking coats. Everybody who came in left Davis with a jacket or a coat. Davis just dropped them all in a pile in the corner and kept waiting.

An hour passed and nobody showed up. Davis was starting to lose hope. He knew Kari was mad at him and he wouldn't be surprised if she didn't even bother to show up, even after he had invited her. But just as he was about to turn around and walk into the party…

"Davis!"

Davis was ecstatic to hear that voice. Kari had arrived. His spirits lifted when he saw her face, but they quickly sank when he saw how unhappy she looked.

"What's wrong?" Davis asked.

"Well, I didn't want to believe it until I saw it for myself," Kari replied. "But I can't believe that after all you've done, you just decided to accept that sweater."

Davis looked down at the Alpha Zeta sweater he was wearing. The sweater symbolizing his membership into the fraternity was doing him in once again. He knew it was coming, yet he didn't want to believe it.

"Kari, I…"

"So even after all you did to Rika, our friends, and to me, you're STILL willing to accept that sweater? I can't believe you, Davis!"

Before Davis could try and explain himself, he felt a hand on his shoulder. It was the large buzzcut, who was accompanied by the ponytail, as usual.

"I thought I saw you making a move," the ponytail said slyly. He examined Kari. "And she's quite a looker, if I do say so myself."

Kari shook her head. "I'm guessing THESE are the two guys you told me about?"

Davis nodded sheepishly. "Yeah…that's them."

"We're incredibly impressed at Davis's perseverance," the ponytail said. "No matter what was put in front of him, he pressed on and did everything that was asked of him."

Kari scowled. "INCLUDING what he pulled on Delta Gamma?"

"She's familiar with your work, Davis," the buzzcut smirked.

"Of course I am! The Gammas are my friends!"

"YOU'RE a Gamma?" the ponytail asked.

Kari sweatdropped. "Well…I didn't quite make it this year." She shook it off. "But my roommate and friend made it and I don't appreciate what you guys put her through! And I can't believe you made Davis do such a thing just to get into your stupid frat!"

"Stupid frat?" the ponytail repeated angrily. "Hey, this guy didn't just gain entry into the best frat in the school, but he's gained himself some brothers, friends that'll last a lifetime."

"Davis HAS friends that'll last a lifetime!" Kari shot back. "He has REAL friends! And his real friends wouldn't ask him to do the things you had him do!"

"Those were tests of loyalty!" the buzzcut growled.

"We wouldn't make Davis prove his loyalty! He's done enough to prove himself to us!"

The buzzcut was about to step forward, but the ponytail held him back.

"Calm down, buddy. Maybe she's got a point. Come on, don't do anything dumb. Let's talk about this over here. We should leave these two alone anyway. They've obviously got stuff they need to talk about."

The ponytail dragged the buzzcut back, leaving Davis alone with Kari again. She obviously didn't look happy and frankly, Davis was starting to understand why.

Kari sighed deeply. "I think I'd better leave."

Davis held her arm to keep her from going. "Kari…I'm sorry. But this fraternity means a lot to me."

Kari shook her head in disbelief. "You just don't get it! Everything I just said completely flew over your head! That's it! I'm leaving!"

Kari was walking away. Davis saw she had a ride. Yolei was parked out front, waiting patiently. It was apparent that Kari didn't plan to stay long. He couldn't believe that after all this, Kari was just walking away.

The ponytail tapped Davis on the shoulder. "Don't just stand there! Go after her!"

Davis blinked. "You think I should?"

"Of course you should! She sounds like a good girl and we don't get a lot of her type around. And it's always a treat when we do. Go get her, Davis. Or at the very least, offer her some punch."

The ponytail handed Davis a glass of punch. He turned around to see Kari walking off, but his Alpha Zeta brothers were urging him to go after her. They were being so supportive of him…just like real friends. That was enough to show him that this frat was worth everything he had gone through.

"Thanks, guys!"

Davis chased after Kari, who had nearly made it to Yolei's car. He tried holding her hand and she sharply pulled it away.

"Get away from me!"

"Kari, please! I'm sorry!"

Kari turned around and saw the look on Davis's face. Davis's heart was starting to melt. This was the girl he had been in love with since he was a kid. He couldn't stand the thought of her walking away.

"Please, Kari. Have some punch. Let's talk about this."

Kari took the punch. "Davis…what made you want to become a frat brother?"

Davis hesitated before coming up with an answer. "I wanted to make some new friends."

Kari sighed. "Davis, I had that same feeling. I wanted new friends, too. And that's why I went out for Delta Gamma. But if they had asked me to do the things Alpha Zeta asked of you, I would have never agreed to it. Friendship's too valuable a thing for me and I love you guys too much to sacrifice what I have. But you…you stepped over Kazu and Kenta, you stepped over Rika, you stepped over Takato, and…you stepped over me. And it's like you realize it…but for some reason…I don't know, I just need to go." She downed the punch in one sip and nearly gagged. "Ugh! This punch tastes terrible!"

Davis held Kari's hand. "Can we please talk about this later?"

Kari nodded. "I guess I can give you that much. After all, you're still my friend." She then got into Yolei's car and rolled down the window. "But Davis…I'm starting to wonder if that's all we can really be."

"What? What do you mean?"

Kari pulled out her nightgown. "If you want to reach me, I'll be at Kazu and Kenta's pajama party. You remember Kazu and Kenta…they're two of our REAL friends. And the rest of our REAL friends will be there too. Goodbye, Davis."

Before Davis could get another word out, the car drove away. He couldn't believe what he had just heard. It was enough to break his heart.

But just then, the ponytail put his hand on his shoulder again. "Too bad she couldn't stay for the party, Davis. But luckily, we made it so that she'll take a little of the party with her."

Davis turned around. "Huh? What do you mean?"

The ponytail motioned towards the buzzcut. The buzzcut then pulled out an open flask and held it upside-down. It was completely dry, with the exception of a single drop that fell to the ground. Davis's heart nearly stopped.

"What did you do?!" Davis demanded.

"She was being TOTALLY uptight," the ponytail smirked. "I mean, did you hear her go on and on and on about Alpha Zeta and how bad we supposedly are? We had to…loosen her up. Let's see her tell her Delta Gamma friends about this one."

Davis was in shock. He couldn't believe what these two had done. They had deliberately spiked Kari's punch. He turned to run, but the buzzcut grabbed his arm.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"I'm out of here! I have to find Kari!"

"You'd walk out of your own frat party?!" the buzzcut shouted.

"Walking out of a frat party means walking out on your frat," the ponytail added sharply.

Davis took off his sweater and threw it to the ground. "Then I'm walking out on my frat!"

Davis started running frantically to try and make it back to Odaiba University as soon as possible. He had to reach Kari.

* * *

Kazu couldn't believe it was all going so well. Nothing had fallen apart yet, the party was going on strong with no sign of the music stopping, and the RA's had yet to say a single word. Everyone who had shown up so far were in their pajamas, just like the flyer said, including Kazu himself, who was in an old black T-shirt and black cotton shorts. By all means, this was a good party. But that wasn't good enough for Kazu, who was noticeably frowning.

"What's wrong, Kazu?" Kenta, in a white T-shirt and sweatpants, asked. "We've got a big turnout, everyone's in their pajamas, and the party's going great! What's got you down?"

"I don't know about this, Kenta," Kazu answered. "This is what I was hoping for and all, but…do you feel like there's something missing?"

"Missing?" Kenta repeated.

"Hi Kazu."

Kazu turned around and saw Guilmon was at the party, too. He was in his white Odaiba University sweatshirt.

"Gui…uh…Gil…what are you doing here?"

"I came to party with you guys," Guilmon answered.

"Wouldn't you stand out?" Kenta pointed out.

"Everybody recognizes me as the OU mascot, remember?" Guilmon pointed out. "And besides, I've got something to liven up your party."

"What would YOU know about livening up this party?" Kazu asked skeptically.

Guilmon answered that question by simply walking towards the front door and opening it up. As soon as he did, a dozen beautiful girls stampeded in. Kazu's eyes widened when he saw the OU cheerleaders in their pajamas. It was just the kind of sight that Kazu was dreaming of seeing.

Guilmon walked up to Kazu and grinned. "I'm pretty sure THAT'S how you liven up a party."

One of the cheerleaders came up behind Guilmon and wrapped her arms around him. "Oh, this is such a cool party, Gil! Thanks for inviting us!"

"You're welcome, Kamika. Now which way's the snack table? I'm hungry."

Kenta was in disbelief as Guilmon led his cheerleader friend to the snack table. "I can't believe it. Guilmon's more popular with the cheerleaders than us."

"Actually, Guilmon's more popular with the cheerleaders than most of the school," Kazu said with a twinkle in his eye. "But there's still plenty of hope for us. Come on, Kenta! Let's go meet the cheerleaders!"

Kazu didn't even wait before dragging his friend along to meet the girls. The party was good, but it had just gotten that much better thanks to Guilmon.

* * *

Ken peeked out the door. "There are a lot of people."

"I can't believe Kazu and Kenta actually went through with this," Henry said.

Inside Takato and Henry's room, Ken sat on the floor with Takato, Henry, and all the Digimon. The party had gotten pretty raucous…and admittedly, it sounded like a lot of fun. But Ken didn't want to go into a party with so many girls in pajamas without Yolei there. He had just gotten out of a bad situation with her and he didn't need to get himself into another one.

"You know, maybe we should go out there," Takato suggested. "If this really is Kazu and Kenta's big moment, then we should be there for them. Besides…it looks like a lot of fun."

Henry nodded. "You're right."

"Of course he's right!" Terriermon grinned. "Come on, Henry! There are a whole lot of girls out there in their pajamas! I know it's not easy to come to terms with getting dumped…"

"I wasn't dumped!"

"…but it's not how many times you get knocked off the horse, it's how many times you get back on! Now go out there and show them why you're Shinjuku High's Most Eligible Bachelor!"

"What about you?" Ken pointed out. "You guys won't get into any trouble, will you?"

Terriermon simply pointed over at the corner. Veemon was shuffling a deck of cards while Patamon and Wormmon were neatly stacking poker chips. It looked like the Digimon had a Friday night of their own all planned out.

"Trust me, we won't leave the room," Terriermon said assuredly. "At least not until I win my money back from Veemon. You guys go on, have a good time."

With nothing else to hold him back, Ken looked at his two friends. "Time to party?"

Takato and Henry exchanged excited glances. "Time to party!"

Without wasting anymore time, Ken, Takato, and Henry rushed out the door to join the party. Tonight would be unforgettable.

* * *

Rika slowly opened up the front door to the freshman building and was surprised to see a very lively party. Everything seemed to be going smoothly and everyone inside looked to be having fun. She was about ready to join them.

"What do you know?" Rika smiled. "They actually did something right. Let's go."

Rika brought in a friend by the hand. She didn't know what prompted her to invite him, but something inside her urged her to invite Ryo. Ryo looked around with a smile on his face.

"I've got to give Kazu and Kenta credit on this one," Ryo said. "They're throwing an awesome party! Thanks for telling me about it, Rika!"

"I figured I should make up for bopping you over the head with that snowboard," Rika said, trying her best not to smile anymore around Ryo. She didn't want him to think she was starting to crack around him. "So now we're even. It doesn't mean anything else."

"Oh, I'm so sure it doesn't," Ryo said confidently.

Rika playfully punched him in the arm. "Just get me some punch."

Ryo humored Rika by rubbing his arm while going over to get some punch. Rika was about to follow him, but somebody came through the door. It was Yolei, but what surprised Rika was that Kari literally came stumbling in behind her.

"Hey, look at all the lights!" Kari slurred. "Now THIS is a party! Come on, Yolei, let's hit the dance floor! WHOO!"

Kari tried to grab Yolei's hand, but missed. It didn't stop her from rushing headfirst into the party anyway. Rika didn't know what to make of that at all.

"What's…with her?"

"She's been that way for a while now," Yolei answered. "I don't understand it. It's like Kari's…I don't know…acting weird."

"That's not the Kari I know," Rika muttered. She turned her head just in time to see that Ryo had come back. "Come on, Ryo! We're keeping an eye on her!"

Ryo shrugged nonchalantly. "Ok. Still want that punch?"

Rika shot him a cold glare. As much fun as this started out to be, somehow Rika got the feeling that this soon would become a serious situation.

* * *

Hours had passed since the party started. The music was blaring, the building was just about filled to capacity, and the music was still blaring with no end in sight. So far, things had not gotten completely out of control, but Matt knew he needed to be on his guard. Anything could pop up at any second and he and Sora would need to be completely alert.

Sora would be patrolling the second floor while Matt had the first. This pajama party would have been the perfect opportunity to get closer to Sora and dance the night away in their pajamas. But as much as he wanted the opportunity to get closer with Sora, he was on duty.

As Matt kept patrolling the area, he walked by the front door of the building…which opened up to reveal an unexpected guest.

"What's this about?"

Matt couldn't believe he was here. "TK! You're here!"

Matt immediately gripped his little brother in a tight hug, nearly cracking his bones in the process.

TK groaned painfully. "Matt! One bone-rattling is enough for this year, thank you very much."

Matt dropped his little brother and composed himself. "Sorry, but I didn't expect to see you here. When did they let you out of the hospital?"

"I was released a few hours ago. I wanted to come back and surprise you guys…but I didn't expect to come back to this."

Matt sweatdropped. "Uh…this can be explained. And it will be explained…a little later. I'm still on duty. Let's just say this is all Kazu and Kenta."

"Somehow that doesn't surprise me," TK chuckled. "Well, I guess I came back just in time for a party. I wonder what else I'll come back to."

TK got his answer. He suddenly felt a pair of hands rubbing against his chest and someone grinding against him to the beat of the music. TK blushed. He wondered who could be behind him. But when he saw the shocked look on Matt's face, TK's smile quickly faded.

"Dance with me, TK!" a familiar voice said seductively.

TK turned around just in time to see that it was Kari. She was still grinding against him and dancing provocatively right in front of him. She kept shaking her hips until she fell clumsily to the ground and laughed loudly. TK picked her up and was nearly repelled by Kari's breath. Then he realized what it was.

It was alcohol.

"Kari…are you DRUNK?!" TK demanded.

"Is THAT what it is?" Kari smiled absent-mindedly. "I was wondering why I've never felt better before in my life."

Matt leaned in and smelled her breath. "I know that smell. It IS alcohol! Kari, you've been DRINKING?!"

"Hmm…don't remember. All I remember was coming back from giving Davis what for and having some punch before I left. It tasted good, you should try it."

Before she could say anymore, Rika and Ryo arrived. They were just in time to see Kari fall to the ground. Rika and Ryo were surprised to see that, but they were also surprised to see TK.

"TK! When did you get back?" Rika asked.

"She's drunk!" TK shouted, ignoring the question.

Rika looked down and found the fallen Kari. "I was afraid of that! How did it happen?"

"I'll explain later," TK grumbled. "I need to get her out of here."

"I talked to Yolei and she's offering you her room for the night," Rika said. She handed TK some keys. "Get her to Yolei's room! She needs a place to pass out!"

"Thanks, Rika. I just have one more question. Where's Davis?! Kari said she just came back from seeing him! Does he know what happened?!"

"I haven't seen Davis all night! But if I see him, I'll tell him where to go!"

"Thanks, Rika. Nice seeing you two again. Matt, we'll catch up later."

TK started dragging Kari out, which wasn't easy with so many partygoers around. He dragged her out the front door and realized he'd have quite a task ahead of him getting Kari to the sophomore dorms. But he didn't care. He knew he had to get her out of there.

* * *

Strategically hiding up a tree, Ebemon simply waited. He was hanging onto a series of branches with the metallic tentacles which served as legs. Seeing so many young humans all heading for one place made him think the DigiDestined and the Tamers would also be there. Sure enough, his target had shown up and gone inside a building where some sort of party was going on. Being an extraterrestrial-type Digimon, Ebemon would have stood out like a sore thumb had he walked in, especially seeing as those humans going into their party appeared to be in sleeping attire.

"I can eradicate each and every one of those humans this instant," Ebemon muttered. "What am I waiting for?"

_"You are to remain patient!"_ Datamon ordered over the communications link in Ebemon's ear. _"If you foolishly rush in, you'll be vastly outnumbered. For a delicate situation like this, you need to use strategy and bide your time, otherwise the numbers will overwhelm you."_

When Ebemon looked closer from his hiding spot, he noticed two young humans coming out. He recognized one of them.

"That's a DigiDestined!" Ebemon said. "The DigiDestined of Hope!"

_"Impossible!"_ Datamon shouted. _"TK couldn't have possibly recovered from ChaosSeadramon's assault so quickly! The odds of such an occurrence are 1 in 4,235,517,928!"_

Ebemon spied a little closer and saw he was pulling someone out. "He's dragging out a human girl. She looks to be unconscious…or at least in less than good condition. It almost looks like the DigiDestined of Light."

"The Child of Light is there?! And in bad condition, you say?! This would be the perfect opportunity to strike!"

"Shall I move in?"

"No! You have your orders. Maintain your position until you can isolate the Tamer with the Cyberdramon. I shall find a way to take advantage of this most intriguing development."

The communications link cut off just as Ebemon saw TK carrying the one known as Kari out of the human party. She certainly looked to be in bad shape. Something must have happened to her. But it wasn't his business to find out what. He had another mission. Ebemon was to wait for the one with the Cyberdramon to leave the party. He was to wait for the one known as Ryo.

And as soon as he lets down his guard, it would be time to strike.

  


Next Week: The party's still going strong, but a party just isn't a party without Impmon! A building full of unsuspecting humans is just what the little scamp dreams of. Joe and Mimi are still on Ms. Mackenzie's trail. What do they discover while they're there? Once the party ends, Ebemon prepares to strike! Can Ryo see the attack coming before it's too late? And what happens when TK gets the drunken Kari back to Yolei's room? And what'll happen when TK is confronted once again with Yolei's roommate, Catherine? And what happens when Davis shows up? Find out on the next Digimon: The College Years!

  


Any comments? Then mail me at AmericanCaptor@hotmail.com and don't forget to review below!


	33. The Evils of Alcohol

Last Week: Kazu and Kenta prepared for their pajama party while the RA's did some preparing of their own. Unfortunately, Tai was nowhere to be found and when Mimi went out to look for him, Joe dragged on an impromptu trip to Reedington. That left Matt and Sora on their own. Tai, in the meantime, had followed Yamaki to the Hypnos base of operations and found the Monster Makers hard at work on the Juggernaut project. Hiding in the bathroom, Tai overheard the Hypnos crew talking about the Juggernaut program until the fire alarm went off. Tai waited until everyone evacuated before attempting to escape, but ran into The Digimon Empress, who was tampering with the mainframe. What got to Tai was that he seemingly recognized her, but before he could say anything, she tossed down a smoke ball and escaped. Davis tried to make up with Kari at the Alpha Zeta party, but things only soured further. Davis refused to leave the frat…until he learned that the ponytail and the buzzcut spiked Kari's punch! TK was released from the hospital, but came back to Odaiba U right in the midst of the wild pajama party. He was happy to see everybody, but when Kari arrived, she was staggering drunk. Yolei left TK her keys so he could get Kari out of there, but as he carried her away, Ebemon spied from a nearby tree and waited to strike when the time was right.

  


**Digimon: The College Years**

Episode 33- The Evils of Alcohol

  


In the old days, TK would love holding Kari in his arms. But tonight was different. Kari was extremely drunk and TK had the unenviable task of carrying her to Yolei's room. And she wasn't exactly being cooperative.

"I can walk, you know," Kari slurred. "I do have two legs. See? One, two. Hey, TK…I never noticed what big feet you have. You know what they say about a guy with big feet, right?"

TK shook his head. "Will you control yourself? Stop that! I'm trying to carry you! Would you stop squirming?!"

"I'm not handicapped, TK!" Kari yelled. "I can walk on my own."

TK couldn't continue carrying Kari like this. He put her down and held his back, but as soon as he did, Kari tried to walk on her own. Sure enough, it didn't take her long to trip over her own feet and fall to the ground.

"Walking never used to be this hard," Kari mused.

TK groaned and tried to pick up Kari, which wasn't an easy task. She wasn't making an effort to get up, which made it seem like TK was lifting a ton. When he couldn't drag her back on her feet, TK simply started dragging her by the arm.

"I just got out of the hospital," TK moaned. "I shouldn't be putting myself through this!"

TK saw he was almost home free. He saw the sophomore dorms. All he had to do was get Kari inside and into Yolei's room and the tough task would be over. But when he went through the door, he saw that he still had to get Kari up a flight of stairs.

TK sweatdropped. "Yeah…I knew it was too easy."

Kari wrapped her arms around TK. "Maybe it'd be easier to just stay down here."

TK only grew more determined. "We're going up those stairs, party girl. Let's go!"

Kari kept her arms around TK, making going up the stairs quite a chore. But TK didn't give up. He struggled, but he kept moving Kari up the stairs, knowing each step brought him closer to Yolei's room.

TK just hoped that once he got there, things would get easier.

* * *

The music was still playing with no end in sight. The party continued and it looked to continue on into the rest of the night. But the fun had yet to start in the eyes of Impmon. He had never seen so many humans in one place before. This was a golden opportunity.

Impmon stealthily slid out of his room upstairs and into the party. The dozens of dancing humans didn't even notice him. He quickly found a place to hide: the snack table. With a large white tablecloth covering the snack table, Impmon could duck under it and not be seen. So that's just what he did.

As soon as he was under the tablecloth, Impmon was ready to have some fun. He stuck his head out from under the tablecloth and lit a fireball on his fingertip. He targeted a couple dancing by the wall. They didn't suspect a thing. Impmon aimed and tossed the fireball right by their feet. When the fireball landed, both dancers let out a scream and jumped. Impmon tried to hold in his laughter as best he could, because as much fun as this was, he didn't want to get caught.

Impmon then turned his attention to some party animals that were heading to the snack table for some punch. This provided the potential for some fun, as well. So he lit another fireball on his tip and lopped it a few inches forward. The unsuspecting partygoers looking for snacks got met with an unpleasant hotfoot.

Impmon couldn't help it. He started laughing. He had just started, but he was already getting a big kick out of tonight. He figured he could keep this up the whole night and get a lot of laughs out of it. But then he stuck his head out from underneath the tablecloth and saw another target that was much more tempting.

He saw Sora the Resident Advisor.

Sora had her hands full, patrolling the second floor and making sure things didn't get out of control. She wasn't even aware of Impmon's presence.

Impmon smirked. He was looking forward to having fun with Sora.

* * *

After what felt like hours of labor, TK finally reached Yolei's room. But he soon found himself fighting Kari to get into his pockets.

"Let me get your keys, TK," Kari giggled. "I've always wanted to get into those pockets."

TK grabbed Kari's wrists tightly. "Cut it out! I'LL get the keys! You stand still!"

TK sighed and reached into his keys for the key to Yolei's dorm. Keeping his eye on Kari, he pulled the key out of his pocket and opened the door. Kari kept hanging with her arms over his neck and TK had trouble prying her away. Kari kept leaning in to try and kiss him and every attempted kiss felt like a dagger in TK's heart. It wasn't easy for him to keep her away. Unfortunately, she wasn't taking a hint. Finally, TK just pushed her down onto Yolei's bed.

Kari burst into tears. "TK! You don't care about me anymore!"

TK shook his head and knelt down by Kari. "It's not that. You don't know how much I still care about you. But will you look at yourself? You're drunk!"

Kari leaned over to kiss TK. "Kiss me, TK."

As much as it hurt him to do it, TK pushed her away. "No…this isn't right…"

Kari tried leaning over again. "I still love you, TK."

That one hurt the most for TK. He had been waiting to hear that again since the day he and Kari broke up, but to hear it from her when she was in this state was like a dagger being thrust into his heart. He got to his feet, but when she tried to join him, he simply grabbed her shoulders and sat her down again.

"Kari…go to sleep. You're drunk. The best thing for you to do is…just pass out."

Kari laid back and started crying. "You hate me."

TK breathed an exasperated sigh. "I don't hate you, Kari. It's just…I can't take advantage of you. It's wrong." He knew it was time to start talking this out. He sat next to Yolei's bed. "I have to be honest with you. Kari…I still look back at the day we broke up and…sometimes I still wish it was just a bad nightmare. I never wanted to lose you. And even if it seemed like the right thing to do at the time…I still regret it. I wish I could have you back. But to take you back when you're like this would be wrong.

"It doesn't mean I hate you. You don't know how much I still care about you. I always have and I always will. And the truth is…I guess I do have to be honest with you eventually. Kari…"

****ZZZZZZZZZ****

Kari didn't hear it. She was snoring. TK just stayed silent. He took off his coat and covered her with it before giving her a kiss on the cheek. He was about to turn to leave, but as soon as he opened the door…

"TK?"

TK froze in his tracks. When he opened the door, he saw someone else ready to come in. It was Yolei's roommate.

It was Catherine.

* * *

Mimi couldn't believe she had gone through with this. She was supposed to be back at the freshman dorms, helping make sure that the party didn't get out of control. Instead, she found herself in Reedington, helping Joe with this farfetched notion that Ms. Mackenzie was aware of what was going on.

Since earlier that day, Mimi and Joe had been hot on her trail and didn't take their eyes off the enigmatic Resident Director. Joe came very close to getting lost on the Reedington streets, but Mimi made sure to keep him focused on the car that belong to Ms. Mackenzie. Neither DigiDestined knew where they were heading, but they soon found a sign that gave them a vague hint.

Joe read the sign. "Penguin Park."

Joe made sure to keep his distance as Ms. Mackenzie parked her car. He parked his car by a nearby parking meter while Mimi focused on Ms. Mackenzie, who was already out of her car and walking towards a fountain.

After putting a couple of coins in the meter, which Joe proceeded to complain about, Mimi dragged Joe towards a tree, where they could hide. Ms. Mackenzie stopped at the fountain and looked at her watch. She then proceeded to wait.

"I don't see anything suspicious, Joe," Mimi grumbled quietly. "I can't believe you dragged me out here to a strange park in the middle of the night just for this."

However, it soon appeared that it wasn't a waste of time, after all. The person Ms. Mackenzie waited for finally arrived. It was one of the professors from Odaiba University. Mimi recognized her as Dr. Marquez.

"I got your message," Dr. Marquez said. "You said it was urgent."

Ms. Mackenzie stood up slowly. "I'm afraid it is. Dr. Marquez, your family is in danger."

* * *

The party continued and everybody was still having a good time, including Takato. The last thing he expected to see was Guilmon bring the cheerleaders to the party. Everywhere Takato looked, people were dancing and having fun. Kazu and Kenta had really outdone themselves.

Henry walked over to the snack table to join his friend. "What's the matter, Takato?"

Takato sighed. "Henry, it's just…" Takato stopped in his tracks. "Is that LIPSTICK?!"

Henry blushed when he realized there were lipstick marks on his cheek. "Uh…oh…that…"

Takato snickered. "Terriermon was right. It really is easier for you when you aren't trying."

"I guess that's true," Henry grinned. "But what's wrong, Takato? You don't look like you're having a good time."

"Someone's missing," Takato frowned. "I haven't seen Jeri anywhere. You'd think she'd make it to a party this big, but I don't know where she is. Nobody seems to know where she is."

Henry was about to say something but stopped. He slowly started backing away from the snack table, which gave Takato a sinking feeling in his stomach. He turned around and found himself face-to- face with a sour Rika…with a cheerful Ryo standing behind her.

"Hey, Takato," Ryo said casually.

Rika turned and gave Ryo an evil eye. "Do you MIND?"

Ryo shrugged. "Ok, I know when I'm not wanted. I probably should be heading home anyway. I'll see you later."

"You always do," Rika grumbled.

Ryo turned around and walked away. Takato turned his head and saw that Henry had left the scene, leaving Takato and Rika alone.

Takato chuckled sheepishly. "Still mad at me?"

"Whatever gives you that idea, Goggle Head?" Rika sang sarcastically. "Of course I'm still mad at you!"

"How many times do I have to apologize?" Takato pleaded. "I said I was sorry. I didn't mean to duck out on you like that."

"You're lucky I managed to keep my temper on my own," Rika said. "But that's not all by a long shot, Takato. I can't believe how many times I caught you trying to spy on me!"

"But I told you that was a misunderstanding!" Takato cried. "You never gave me a chance to explain!"

"The point is that you've been messing up a lot, Takato, and I should make you pay for everything! Luckily for you, I thought of a way for you to make it all up to me."

"I don't like the sound of that," Takato muttered. "What is it?"

Rika looked around to make sure no one was watching before leaning in. "Since you've proven yourself to be such a good spy these days, I need you to do me a big favor. I want you to ask Ryo what he thinks of me. What he REALLY thinks of me."

Takato blinked. "Why would you want me to ask him something like that?" Then it hit him. "OHHHHH…is it because you…?"

"Is it because I WHAT?!" Rika snapped.

"Uh…never mind."

"So what do you say, Takato? Could you do that for me?"

Takato knew he had a lot to make up for. He couldn't forget the time he ducked out on Rika after promising to help her keep her temper in check. And he also couldn't forget about the times he got caught in a bad position at the sorority house and on that ladder by her room. He needed to make up for his mistakes. So he simply nodded.

"Alright, I guess I can help you out with that."

"Thanks, Takato. Now have you seen Davis around?"

Coincidentally, Takato saw Davis walking in through the front door. "Yeah…he's right there."

Davis saw Takato and Rika and sped right over towards them. "Takato, Rika, have you seen…ACK!"

Before Davis could even utter his question, Yolei stormed over and grabbed him by the collar, nearly suffocating him.

"Davis Motomiya, what happened to Kari?!" Yolei demanded. "How is it that I dropped her off at your stupid frat party and she was ok, but when she left, she was DRUNK?! Huh?! Tell me!"

"Yolei…you're choking me!"

Yolei dropped Davis and gave him a chance to breathe. "I want to know what happened to her, Davis! You'd better tell me right now!"

Davis caught his breath. "It was those stupid frat guys. They spiked Kari's punch. I don't know what they put in it. Where is she? Is she ok?"

"She was drop dead drunk!" Rika said angrily. "And all because of you and your stupid frat! What do you have to say for yourself?!"

"I quit the frat!"

Takato didn't expect to hear that. "You did?"

"Yeah I did! Now can somebody PLEASE tell me where Kari is?!"

"TK took her to my room," Yolei answered.

"Huh? TK's back?"

"Yes, TK's back! And it's a good thing he came back tonight, because he got Kari out of here before anything really bad could happen and you'd better thank your lucky stars nothing happened to her, Davis Motomiya, because if something bad had happened to her, I swear I would…"

Rika cut her off. "Ok, Yolei, easy. Take a deep breath. Nothing bad happened to Kari…thankfully. No thanks to Davis, of course."

"I need to see her," Davis said quickly. "I've got to go!"

Nobody was exactly clearing a path for Davis, so Takato tried to be the voice of reason.

"He wasn't the one who spiked that drink," Takato cut in. "Let him through, girls."

"I don't need you standing up for me," Davis scowled.

Davis walked through and started heading towards the door. Takato couldn't help but feel bad. It was obvious Davis was still hurt over that whole Goggle Man fiasco.

The time for making amends for THAT mistake obviously wasn't now.

* * *

Terriermon couldn't focus on the cards in his hand. The music was so loud that it was literally shaking the walls. The vibrations almost shook the dealer's hat off his head. And he nearly lost his voice from yelling over the loud music.

"CALL!"

Veemon laid down his hand. "THREE ACES!"

Patamon tossed his hand down. "I FOLD!"

"WHAT ABOUT YOU, WORMMON?" Terriermon asked.

Wormmon hesitated. "ALL I HAVE ARE TWO PAIRS OF KINGS!"

The Digimon groaned again. The pot went to Wormmon once more. Terriermon then found himself bouncing off the floor with the vibrations of the music. He stood up and walked up to the window.

"Anybody leaving yet?!" Patamon shouted. "I can't take much more of this!"

Terriermon agreed with that notion. So he checked the window and looked out to see if anybody was leaving the party. There was only one person leaving and that person was Ryo.

"Just our luck," Terriermon grumbled. "It's just Ryo. Hey!"

Terriermon then saw something jump out of the tree and start following Ryo. It was a white extraterrestrial Digimon on about a dozen synthetic tentacles and a ray gun in each hand.

"Something's up!" Terriermon cried. "There's a Digimon out there following Ryo! We've got to do something!"

Patamon flew towards the window. "You and I can follow it! Veemon and Wormmon can go tell someone!"

Veemon picked up Wormmon and dragged him off. "Let's go, Wormmon!"

In their rush to run out the door, Veemon and Wormmon knocked over the entire stack of poker chips. Terriermon opened up the window. Patamon picked him up and they both headed out to follow that Digimon, whoever it was.

* * *

It was very easy to blend in with so many humans distracted. Impmon couldn't have set this up any better. It was obvious that no one was paying any attention to him, including Sora, who was there maintaining order in a green nightgown and a beanie on her head. Impmon slinked over towards the unsuspecting RA, who was standing by the stairs. She didn't even see him coming.

Of course, with her being so much taller than him, there wasn't much Impmon could do. Then he looked over and saw the stair railing. He climbed on the railing and skillfully kept his balance. While Sora still had her back turned, Impmon reached for the girl's hat and snatched it off. To Impmon's disappointment, a lot of her hair had already grown back. Also, it wasn't as stealthy a move as he had hoped, because Sora immediately turned around.

"Impmon! WHOA!"

Sora was standing right on the edge of one of the steps and was losing her balance. Impmon knew how dangerous it could be to fall down a flight of stairs, so he tried to hold her up, but she was heavy. She was going to fall, but luckily, someone caught her just in the nick of time.

Sora turned her head and breathed a sigh of relief. "Whew! Thanks, Matt!" Then she turned to Impmon and scowled. "Gimme that!"

Impmon held the hat away from Sora. "What d'ya need this thing for anyway? A lot of your hair grew back anyways. I just took it 'cause I thought you was still bald."

"You're lucky nobody's looking this way," Sora growled. "Now give me back my hat!"

Impmon casually tossed Sora her hat back. "Eh, I'll probably have more fun downstairs anyway. HEY! Put me down!"

Matt held Impmon up by his scarf. "We've got enough trouble keeping things straight without you running around. Get back in your room! Or at least…go with the other Digimon."

Matt dropped Impmon so that he landed on his backside. Having been spotted, Impmon feigned like he was going back to his room.

But as soon as the RA's stopped looking, Impmon ducked back underneath the snack table. He knew he'd have his opportunity to have fun sooner than later.

* * *

Veemon still had Wormmon by the hand as the two Digimon snuck alongside the wall. None of the partiers even noticed them, because they were all dancing to the music. As much as Veemon wanted to stop and get his own groove on, he knew there was a serious situation brewing. He had to get someone. Luckily, he spotted Ken.

"Ken! We've got a problem!"

Ken moved the two Digimon towards a lone spot. "What are you two doing out? I thought you agreed to stay put."

"Yeah, but there's a Digimon outside," Wormmon said. "We saw it come out of a tree!"

"A Digimon," Ken frowned. "We'd better handle this, but play 'stuffed animal' until we get outside."

Ken picked up Veemon and Wormmon in his arms and started carrying them out. But just as they reached the door, they ran into Davis.

Veemon was happy to see his partner. "Davish! You made it!"

Ken sweatdropped. "What did I just say?" He looked up at Davis. "Am I glad to see you! We've got a problem!"

"Not now, Ken! I've got to find Kari!"

"Davis, we've got a Digimon on the loose! They're saying they saw one outside."

Davis stopped in his tracks. "A Digimon? Here? What if they're after Kari again? Let's go!"

That was all it took to get Davis in on this chase. None of the partiers even took notice and just kept on going. Veemon liked how oblivious the humans were being. That would make his job much easier.

* * *

Having been spotted, Impmon was afraid the fun would be over. Then he got the idea to go downstairs, where he wouldn't be expected. But as the mischievous little Digimon snuck downstairs, he noticed Davis and Ken, who were carrying their partners out the front door.

Impmon didn't know what was going on, but he got the feeling this would be an opportunity to have some fun. So he slinked towards the front door and made his way out. But on his way out, Impmon couldn't help but notice hearing something inside the bushes. It sounded like a human couple making out. Getting an impish grin on his face, Impmon lit a fireball on his fingertips and casually tossed it towards the bushes, which startled the couple and had them jumping out.

Having done his bad deed for the day, Impmon went back to following Davis and Ken.

* * *

This was not where TK wanted to find himself. He didn't think Catherine would be here and if he knew, he would have taken Kari anywhere else. Instead of leaving the room, TK found himself backing up as Catherine slowly approached him.

"I was afraid I'd never hear from you again," Catherine said. "I'm so relieved that you're out of the hospital…and I'm glad you came back to talk."

TK gulped. "I didn't exactly come back to talk. I was just leaving."

"TK, please hear me out," Catherine pleaded. She held TK's hand. "I've had a lot of time to think about this and…I know I should never have even considered someone like Tai. Tai's a good friend, but I shouldn't have started dating and I never should have kissed him when you were the right one for me all along. I don't blame you for being upset about that. I know I probably don't deserve one, but all I'm asking for is another chance."

TK shook his head. "I can't do that."

Catherine hung her head down. "I knew it. You hate me."

"I don't hate you," TK replied. He found himself saying those words many times on this night. "It's not you, Catherine. You're a wonderful human being and anybody would be lucky to have you." He took this moment to examine her body with his eyes. "Believe me! They'd be VERY lucky! But the truth is…I'm in love with someone else."

Catherine didn't expect that. "Somebody else?"

TK nodded. "Yeah. I'm in love with…that girl!"

TK pointed at Kari…who was passed out on Yolei's bed. She was snoring and visibly drooling. TK sweatdropped.

So did Catherine. "Uh…her?"

"Kari's not always like this, trust me," TK sighed. "But she really is the sweetest girl I've ever known. She's been the one for me since day one and this time we've been apart has helped me realize it. I hope she feels the same way…when she's sober, that is."

Catherine walked over to Kari and lifted her right arm. She let go and the arm fell limp. "She's completely out. You think she'll be ok?"

"I hope so."

Catherine smiled. "TK…I'm glad you were honest with me. I hope you and I can still be friends."

TK felt relieved. "I'd like that."

"You don't have to worry about a thing. I can keep an eye on Kari for you."

"You'd do that for me?" TK asked.

Catherine nodded. "Of course, TK! I know you just got out of the hospital and I know you'd like to go back to your dorm."

"Uh…I'm not sure if that's a good idea," TK said skeptically. "Kazu and Kenta still have that wild party going."

"Go back, TK. Go see your friends again. I'm sure they'll want to see you again now that you're out of the hospital."

TK thought about that. "You know what? You're right. Thanks, Catherine. Please take care of her for me. I'll be back to check up on her later."

"I'll take care of her, TK."

Feeling assured of Kari's safety, TK walked out of the dorm, but not before TK leaned over and gave Kari one last kiss on the cheek. After making sure she was comfortable, TK walked out and left.

A part of TK didn't want to leave, but he knew things would be awkward if he stayed. He couldn't stay in the same room with Kari AND Catherine. It would be too much for him. And Catherine made a good point. TK had spent a lot of time at the hospital. This was the best time for him to go back and see his friends.

But as TK walked out of the building, he looked up and saw someone was climbing out of a second-story window. At first, TK just thought it was one of the sophomores sneaking out to avoid any confrontations with the RA's. But TK got a closer look and saw that that wasn't the case at all.

The one climbing out the window was a blond-haired girl…wearing the attire of the old Digimon Emperor. TK couldn't believe it. It was The Digimon Empress. The moment TK left, she had gone in. And sure enough, she was carrying Kari out of the window right along with her.

TK gasped. "Kari! NO!"

TK ran at full speed to try and stop what was obviously meant to be Kari's abduction. As soon as The Digimon Empress saw she had been spotted, she dropped Kari and started fleeing the scene. TK ran past Kari, who was still passed out, and kept the chase going. He knew if he didn't stop her now, this would never end. The Digimon Empress was much faster than TK thought. He was starting to lose her, especially after he started slowing down. TK was a little fatigued after coming out of the hospital. She was going to get away.

But that's when TK heard the revving of an engine…and someone intercepted her. He was nearly blinded when he saw a pair of headlights ahead. A motorcycle had stopped in front of The Digimon Empress.

It was Tai.

Tai stepped off the motorcycle. The Digimon Empress tried to go the other way, but found TK was approaching her from the other end. She had been caught and there was no escape for her.

As TK got closer, he got a better look at The Digimon Empress. He then stopped in his tracks. "You look…familiar."

"I know who it is," Tai said solemnly.

The Digimon Empress then tried to run. But she didn't get past Tai. He pulled her over by the arm. She kept trying to shrug him off, but Tai wouldn't let go.

"Stay where you are…CATHERINE!"

Tai reached over and held The Digimon Empress's blond hair…which he proceeded to pull off. Tai fell backwards on his backside, obviously not expecting what he got. The blond hair was a wig. The Digimon Empress had black hair. After the wig fell off, the dark glasses then fell off the girl's face. TK gasped when he saw who was wearing the old Digimon Emperor attire. It wasn't Catherine at all. The Digimon Empress was…

"ROSA!"

TK was in disbelief. With the wig, he could have sworn it was Catherine. But with the wig and dark glasses off, TK saw it was actually Rosa.

Tai didn't expect to make that discovery. "Huh?"

Rosa didn't give either one time to react. She pulled out a smoke ball and tossed it to the ground. Smoke went up and TK and Tai could only cough. When the smoke cleared, Rosa had escaped. TK and Tai were left by themselves.

"Am I glad to see you," TK smiled.

"Same here," Tai replied. "When did you get out of the hospital?"

"I was released today," TK sighed. "I was hoping to surprise everybody, but it's pretty obvious that wasn't such a good idea. Man, things just keep getting worse. I thought Kari…" TK stopped himself. If Tai found out that Kari got drunk, it would send the overprotective big brother over the edge. "I thought Kari fainting was bad enough. But this tops everything I've seen tonight."

"TK, where IS Kari?"

"Rosa dropped her back there as soon as she saw me," TK answered. "She must have taken her out of Catherine's room."

"Wait…then where's Catherine?"

TK and Tai exchanged glances. That seemed to be the big question. As soon as they realized it, TK and Tai turned around and rushed back towards the sophomore dorms. But they both stopped when they saw Kari on the ground, sitting up. TK and Tai rushed to her side, but TK waved him off.

"Tai, go check on Catherine. I'll make sure Kari's ok."

Tai was reluctant to go, but TK kept waving him on. Finally, Tai simply left TK alone with Kari. TK dusted her off and brought her to her feet…where she proceeded to fall over.

TK groaned. "Great…still drunk."

Sure enough, Kari passed out again. TK didn't know what else to do, except carry her back to Yolei and Catherine's room. Bending down and making sure to lift with his legs, TK lifted Kari into his arms and started carrying her away.

He got the feeling this wasn't the kind of strenuous activity the doctors wanted him to get into right after getting released from the hospital.

* * *

Tai didn't want to leave his little sister behind, but he honestly knew she was in good hands with TK. Unfortunately, he had no idea of how Catherine was or even where she was. He rushed into the sophomore dorms and up the stairs before stopping at Catherine's door. Surprisingly, the door was unlocked and Tai moved right in.

He immediately noticed that Catherine was unconscious on the ground.

Tai gasped and hurried to her side. He shook her frantically in an effort to wake her up. After a minute of furious shaking, Catherine started to come to.

She opened her eyes slowly and they suddenly widened. "Tai!"

"Are you ok?"

Catherine held her head. "I'm…fine. What happened?"

* * *

In any other world, or any other campus, this party may have been construed as "out of control", but Kazu felt very proud of himself. Everyone was having a good time, the RA's had yet to jump in to stop any of it, and there was no sign of any of it stopping anytime soon. It was something people would be talking about for a long time and that would be something Kazu could take pride in.

Kazu looked around. There were college kids dancing everywhere and there was hardly any room to walk. Thus, it was easy to lose anybody in this crowd.

"Kenta? Where'd you go?"

"Coming, Kazu!"

Kenta did come. He came by way of crowd-surfing. The partiers simply moved Kenta right towards Kazu.

"That's an easy way to travel," Kenta grinned.

"What did I tell you? I told you this would seal our legacy! Even if it IS at the expense of us getting written up."

"And believe me, you WILL get written up," a voice behind him said.

Kazu gulped and turned around to see Matt the RA. "Heh heh…we will?"

"It's going to take DAYS to clean all this up!" Matt pointed out. "You're lucky I haven't broken this up yet!"

"Uh…why haven't you?" Kenta asked curiously.

"Well…when else would I get a chance to dance with Sora in her nightgown?" Matt smirked.

"Good point," Kazu grinned. "Thanks for understanding, Matt."

"No problem. Just as long as nothing else goes wrong, you won't have to worry about anything else from me."

As if on cue, the entire vicinity started to fill up with smoke. Kazu was practically blinded.

"Uh…who turned out the lights?" Kenta asked.

Kazu coughed. "It's the smoke machines! They're out of control!"

"Alright, that does it!" Matt groaned. "Everybody clear out!"

Kazu couldn't believe it. The party was going so well and now it got to the point that Matt had to evacuate the entire building.

"Is this the kind of legacy we had in mind?" Kenta asked.

"Not exactly," Kazu answered. "Follow me!"

Kazu tried to find his way to his room, but it was a difficult task to get through the evacuating partiers while trying to see his way through the smoke. Kazu tried moving with his hands outstretched in front of him like a zombie in hopes of eventually feeling his door, but instead he felt something…scaly.

"I don't think this is my door."

"No, it's just me."

"Guil…er…Gil?"

"What are you looking for, Kazu?"

"My room! Where's my room?"

"Your room's right over here."

"Are you ok, Gil?" Guilmon's cheerleader friend asked.

"I'm fine, Kamika. But it looks like the party's over."

"That's too bad. But look at it this way. Now we can go back and I can bake you some cookies."

"Oh boy! Cookies! YAY!"

Kazu finally found his doorknob. He propped the door open and found the only way to save everyone from all this smoke. Kazu desperately reached out to his partner.

"Guardromon! Do something! Our party's gone up in smoke…literally! Blow all this smoke away!"

Guardromon stayed still and didn't respond.

"Did you hear me?! I said blow all this away!"

Guardromon didn't move.

"Hey, what's with you?!"

"You told me not to move, no matter what," Guardromon answered.

"I'm pretty sure we can throw out whatever I said when it comes to our entire building being filled with smoke," Kazu pointed out. "Now start moving!"

"Ok…uh…move where?"

"Just blow all that smoke out of here!"

Guardromon calmly moved towards the hallway and activated the many fans on his body. The smoke started blowing away and the hallways were starting to clear. But by that time, the entire building had been evacuated.

"Well…it could be worse," Kenta sighed.

"How could it be worse?" Kazu asked.

"We got in about eight hours of heavy partying."

That was all it took to perk up Kazu. "Hey, you're right! This was the best party ever!"

Kazu and Kenta exchanged a high-five. Sure, they'd get written up for this, without a doubt. But they did what they wanted to do. They sealed their legacy.

It was a good night.

* * *

Ryo didn't want to have to leave the party so soon, but it was getting late and he knew he had to be getting back home before it got any later. Besides, he knew he couldn't leave his partner unsupervised too long. His partner was the type who needed constant supervision.

As he was walking down the street towards the alley where he left Cyberdramon, Ryo started hearing rustling coming from nearby. He sensed that something wasn't right. He stopped and looked around, but didn't find signs of anything. So he kept walking, but treaded more carefully.

But as Ryo kept walking forward, a laser blast shot right past him and hit a streetlight next to him. The shot narrowly missed him. Ryo could only roll out of the way and look back to see who shot at him. He couldn't find anybody. Then another laser blast came towards him. Ryo ducked it as the blast hit a tree behind him.

"Who's there?!" Ryo shouted.

"I have been sent to dispose of you," a voice sounded.

Ryo didn't see anything surrounding him, but just as luck would have it, he soon felt something being pointed at the back of his head. Ryo kept a calm, cool exterior despite having what was obviously a weapon being pointed at him.

"Say goodbye," the voice behind him said.

"Goodbye," a friendly, yet fearsome, voice said.

The hostile being was suddenly sent flying. Ryo turned around and saw that Cyberdramon had saved him. He then turned around and saw what was trying to blast him. It was an extraterrestrial Digimon with metallic tentacles for legs and a blaster in each hand, the one in his right hand being bigger than the other.

Ryo pointed his Digivice. "Ebemon, Mega level, alien virus type. He uses the left ray gun for his Brain Rupture attack and the bigger gun in his right hand for his Planet Destroyer attack."

"Who sent you?" Cyberdramon demanded.

"That is my little secret," Ebemon replied. "But I am being paid handsomely to kill you two for what you did."

"What we did?" Ryo repeated.

"Don't act so innocent! You know perfectly well it was you and your Cyberdramon who nearly demolished an entire base of operations."

Ryo blinked. "Huh? Us?"

"Still denying it," Ebemon growled. "I will make you pay for your insolence. Brain Rupture!"

Ebemon aimed his blaster at Ryo again and fired. Again, Ryo managed to dodge the blaster bolt, but Ebemon's shots were starting to get more accurate. Seeing his partner in danger, Cyberdramon stepped in and started brawling with Ebemon. Cyberdramon would always win in a brawl and showed it once again as he tossed Ebemon aside like a sack of laundry.

But Ebemon was more cunning than he was physical. Knowing he wouldn't beat Cyberdramon in a physical encounter, Ebemon kept his distance and aimed his ray gun.

"Brain Rupture!"

Ebemon started firing his gun like crazy, but Cyberdramon was swift on his feet and kept bouncing from left to right and back and forth. The extraterrestrial Digimon soon saw he wasn't getting anywhere and started moving away.

"Come fight me, coward!" Cyberdramon shouted.

Cyberdramon started chasing Ebemon around and Ryo followed close by. Ebemon turned a corner into an alley and Cyberdramon turned to follow.

"HEY!"

Ryo didn't like the sound of that. Cyberdramon had fallen into an empty manhole. Ebemon had the manhole cover and quickly put it back in the hole. He then used his ray gun to seal the manhole shut. Cyberdramon was stuck in the sewer. With Ryo's partner stuck for the moment, Ebemon began to focus on Ryo.

"And now I have you all alone."

Without Cyberdramon, Ryo had no way to defend himself. He turned back to run. Ebemon began blasting away at Ryo again without scoring a hit. Ryo managed to keep out of harm's way for the moment, but things got bad when he tripped and fell. It was the worst time for that to happen.

Ryo looked up and saw Ebemon aiming right for him. But he soon found his attempted execution interrupted.

"Boom Bubble!"

"Bunny Blast!"

Something had come to Ryo's rescue. He soon saw it was Terriermon and Patamon, but their attacks merely bounced harmlessly off Ebemon. Ebemon saw Patamon flying towards him and simply grabbed him by the leg and twirled him around several times before tossing him aside right into Terriermon, who was standing a few inches away, taking them both out of the fight.

"That worked well," Patamon moaned.

"Oh, shut up," Terriermon growled under his breath.

Without the rookies to annoy him, Ebemon focused back on Ryo. "Sending a pair of insects to get me? Is that the BEST you could do?"

"Ex Vee Kick!"

In the nick of time, Ryo had been saved again. This time it was ExVeemon, Veemon's champion form, swooping in with a stiff flying kick that sent Ebemon rolling down an empty parking lot.

"For a superior being, you sure stall a lot, don't you?" ExVeemon cracked.

"That is my own grave miscalculation," Ebemon grumbled, as he got up. "But I shall soon rectify my errors by disposing of you and your fellow meddlers."

Ryo took this chance to crawl away and was helped to his feet by a good friend. It was Ken, along with Davis.

"Ken! When did you get here?"

"Obviously just in time," Ken answered. "Move in, Stingmon!"

Behind Ken came Stingmon, the big champion insect Digimon. Soon, Ebemon found himself facing off with two champion Digimon. But even Ryo knew that wouldn't be enough.

"Guys, he's a Mega! They won't last long!"

"Davis and I always come prepared for that," Ken said. "Ready, Davis?"

Davis held up his Digivice. "Let's do it!"

****ExVeemon…Stingmon…DNA Digivolve to…Paildramon!****

Ryo looked on in amazement. Ken had found himself a DNA Digivolving partner and that partner turned out to be Davis. The two champion Digimon combined themselves to form ultimate-level Paildramon.

Paildramon stood face-to-face with Ebemon, who was pointing his blaster. There was a brief standoff…but the real battle was about to begin.

  


Next Time: Paildramon joins in on the fight, but someone else is on his way to jump in. Can Ebemon be beaten? And Rosa has been revealed to be The Digimon Empress! Where do the DigiDestined and the Tamers go from here? And how does Kari recover from…her hangover? Find out on the next Digimon: The College Years!

  


Any comments? Then mail me at AmericanCaptor@hotmail.com and don't forget to review below!

1 


	34. Domo Arigato, Mr Roboto

Last Week: The big pajama party winded down…and ended with a little mishap involving the smoke machines. Luckily, Guardromon was there to help clean it up. Joe and Mimi ended up in Reedington, of all places, and watched as Ms. Mackenzie met up with Dr. Marquez with an urgent message. TK helped carry Kari, who was drunk, up to Yolei's room and laid her down on the couch before leaving…or trying to leave. He didn't get very far when he saw Yolei's roommate, Catherine. After clearing up all misunderstandings and misconceptions, TK left Kari alone with Catherine, but again didn't get far when he saw her being carried off. The Digimon Empress had struck and it wasn't long before TK gave chase. She tried to make a clean getaway, but didn't get far after Tai intercepted her on his motorcycle. Surrounded on both sides, The Digimon Empress didn't get too far before she was unmasked by Tai. But after the glasses and blond wig were removed, Tai and TK were surprised to find out it was actually ROSA! Momentarily frozen by the shock, Rosa used the opportunity to escape. Meanwhile, Ryo was leaving the pajama party, but soon found himself confronted by Ebemon. Cyberdramon tried to make the save, but was soon outsmarted and Ryo was left alone again. That is, until Ken and Davis arrived with Stingmon and ExVeemon, who DNA Digivolved into Paildramon. Now there's a battle on hand.

  


**Digimon: The College Years**

Episode 34- Domo Arigato, Mr. Roboto

  


Mimi was almost falling asleep as she sat behind the bush. Without Joe there, she would have fallen asleep long ago. Of course, if it weren't for Joe, she also wouldn't be in this situation to begin with. The conversation between Ms. Mackenzie and Dr. Marquez was obviously very private and of a very sensitive nature. Why she was even here in the first place, she had no idea. Only Joe knew that for sure.

"Have you been listening to them this entire time, Joe?"

"I can barely make out what they're saying," Joe grumbled.

Mimi crossed her arms and huffed. "So have we basically wasted this entire night?"

"I wouldn't call it a total waste. I mean, you did enjoy looking at all those billboards we passed."

Mimi groaned and laid back on the ground. She didn't even care that a perfectly good sundress was getting basted in dirt. She couldn't believe Joe had wasted her time like this.

Ms. Mackenzie helped Dr. Marquez into her car and watched as she drove away. She then turned towards the bush.

"I know you must have a lot of questions, Joe," Ms. Mackenzie called out. "Perhaps I can answer them for you."

Joe gasped and nearly fell back on top of Mimi. Mimi shoved him off and sent him tumbling clumsily out of the bush. Joe picked himself up and adjusted his glasses.

"How long did you know I was back there?"

"I had a feeling you'd be back there," Ms. Mackenzie answered. "And I also had a feeling you'd drag Mimi along with you."

Mimi stuck her head out of the bush. "Wow! You're good!"

Ms. Mackenzie nodded and picked Joe up by the hand. "You've had questions about me from the very beginning. I can sense it. You believe I know something about the strange occurrences of the past couple of months…involving the Digimon."

Joe dusted himself off. "Yeah. You've been…weird, to say the…wait…you know about the Digimon?"

Ms. Mackenzie had a look of uncertainty on her face. "Um…vaguely. I'm not entirely familiar with the phenomenon that is the Digimon. I've seen…a prophecy. But to me, the meaning of it has come across extremely vague…at least in my eyes. All I know…is that I've seen you and Mimi in these visions…along with the other RA's…and some of the other students."

Joe and Mimi exchanged glances. Something big was going on and, likely, it was too big for Ms. Mackenzie to comprehend. So Joe went ahead and asked the big question.

"What have you been seeing?"

* * *

Ryo looked on as the battle between Paildramon and Ebemon began. They started grappling and tossing each other around, as it looked that Ebemon had finally been distracted from what was apparently a mission to do away with him. Ryo didn't understand why he was suddenly a target.

After pushing Paildramon away, Ebemon aimed his ray gun. "Brain Rupture!"

Paildramon leaped to avoid the blast, which hit the pavement. From midair, Paildramon launched a counter-attack. "Desperado Blaster!"

What Ryo hoped would be a critical blow turned out to be harmless. The potent blasts merely bounced off Ebemon.

"Fool! I am an enhanced Mega Digimon with protective armor! Your frail attacks cannot hurt me!"

Ken and Davis looked shocked to see Paildramon's attack bounce off. Terriermon and Patamon, who were picking themselves up, were taking a step back. Ryo didn't know what else to know, until he started to see a rumbling from the underneath the sidewalk he was standing on. He began to realize it must have been Cyberdramon. That's when he got an idea. Ryo looked under the sidewalk and saw his partner from the gutter.

"Meet me over there!"

Cyberdramon got the message and started running through the sewer. Ryo ran in the same direction, in hopes to meet up with his partner on the other side.

* * *

Impmon looked on from a nearby tree. He left the party looking for a good time, but never expected to see something like this. He was witnessing a big fight with a rogue Digimon and a Digimon that had been formed by the merging of two champion-level Digimon. He had never seen anything like it.

He suddenly noticed Ryo running off. "Humph, where's HE off to?"

Impmon then shifted his focus back to the battle. Ebemon was firing off his ray gun at Paildramon repeatedly, coming closer to making contact each time. Impmon merely scoffed at what he was seeing.

"He calls that a gun? He ain't seen nothing yet."

A long time had passed for Impmon since he decided to take the big guns out. There had never been any reason to. But this was different. As amazing as this new Digimon was, he wasn't getting very far against the hostile Digimon.

So Impmon jumped off the tree…and walked off to make a change.

* * *

The pajama party was over. Everyone had cleared out after the smoke machine went out of control, so everybody was out of the freshman dorm building…except for Kazu and Kenta. After having Guardromon blow the smoke away, it was safe to stick around. When the smoke cleared, Kazu realized just why nobody else bothered to come in. To say the least, the freshman dorm building was a terrible mess.

There was garbage everywhere, residue all over the walls, and just about all the equipment was turned over. It looked like a stampede had come through and left nothing but destruction in its wake.

Kazu tried to slink away. "Well, I guess that's our cue to leave."

But as Kazu turned to walk away, he bumped into Resident Advisor Matt Ishida, who wasn't about to let him get off the hook that easily.

"Part of being a good party host is knowing when to clean up after your guests," Matt pointed out. He handed Kazu a broom and Kenta a dustpan and duster. "Ms. Mackenzie could come in at anytime, so I'd advise you guys to go quickly."

Kazu and Kenta just stood in disbelief as Matt casually walked off. The party was a complete success, but it didn't come without a price. Kazu grumbled as he started sweeping some of the residue off the walls…which then proceeded to fall all over Kenta.

"Hey! Watch where you're sweeping!"

"Oh, shut up and dust."

Kenta complied. He started dusting Kazu's face until he sneezed. It was obvious that cleaning the entire building after a big party would be an all-night task. And it would be far too much for two freshmen to handle by themselves. That's when Kazu got the idea to get a little help. But before he could walk off, Kenta dragged him back by the arm.

"I know that look. Do you REALLY want Guardromon to help us with this?"

"It's not like things could get any worse," Kazu pointed out.

"That's what I'm afraid of," Kenta countered. "The last thing we need is for Guardromon to make an even BIGGER mess."

"That's not possible," Kazu said matter-of-factly. "Guardromon, come on out here."

Guardromon rushed over. "Yes, Kazu?"

"Give us a hand with this," Kazu requested. "Clear these walls."

Guardromon pointed his mechanical arm and got to work on the walls. He started scrubbing the walls with his hand, but Guardromon was getting overzealous again. He was clearing the walls of dust. Unfortunately, he was also clearing the walls of its paint.

"Guardromon, stop!"

"Something wrong, Kazu?"

Kazu crossed his arms. "You know, your wires have been getting crossed more than usual these days. Now you know when I say 'clear these walls', you know I don't mean STRIP THE PAINT! I think you need a thorough reprogramming."

"You're going to have him reprogrammed?" Kenta asked.

"You in the mood to take a look at him?"

"I don't know. Reprogramming a Digimon? I don't know if I could do that."

"Well, who else am I supposed to take him to?"

As if on cue, somebody else walked back in. "Is it safe to come back in?"

Kazu turned around and grinned upon seeing the right person for the job. "Henry! Am I glad to see you!"

* * *

Davis couldn't bear to look as Ebemon kept blasting away. He hadn't connected with Paildramon yet, but he was coming a lot closer. Paildramon was on his toes more than a ballerina and was proving ineffective against the roguish Mega Digimon.

Paildramon kept bouncing around. "I feel like I stepped into a old western!"

"Stand still!" Ebemon shouted. "It'll make it much easier to blast you!"

"Hey! You call that a gun?"

Everyone stopped in their tracks, giving Paildramon a much-needed break. Everyone present turned around to look at who made that bold statement. Somebody else had stepped into the fight. It was another Digimon, a tall purple creature covered in black leather, holding a gun in each hand. He stepped forward, roughly pushing Paildramon aside, and promptly raised his arms to point his guns at Ebemon.

The Digimon aimed straight for Ebemon. "Get a load of these! Double Impact!"

A barrage of loud shots came next. Ebemon didn't expect to be confronted with this latest opposition, but still fired back. The Digimon avoided the hits and skillfully aimed his guns and fired another barrage of shots. One after the other, they made contact with Ebemon, puncturing his armor with every hit. Ebemon soon fell back, stunned by the sudden onslaught.

That's when something hit Davis like a ton of bricks. There was something about this Digimon. The way he callously fired off his guns…the look of fury in his eyes…the seeming disdain and contempt for anyone else's well-being…struck Davis as…familiar.

"Davis, what is it?" Ken asked.

"I've seen this guy before," Davis muttered.

Terriermon ran forward. "Beelzemon?! How did you get here?!"

"I got here when the party slowed down," Beelzemon answered gruffly.

Despite taking a brutal assault from Beelzemon, Ebemon didn't give up. Staggered, but not beaten, Ebemon rose to his feet.

"This battle is not over," Ebemon snarled. "It is merely beginning." He held up his right hand, which had an arm cannon attached. "Planet Destroyer!"

The cannon charged up briefly before it released a long, laser blast that scored a direct hit on Beelzemon. It hit with such an impact that Beelzemon flew at least five feet back before landing and sliding another five feet on the pavement. Terriermon and Patamon rushed to Beelzemon's side. He was still alive, but he was dazed by the impact.

"I came here to claim my target!" Ebemon growled. "And I will do so, even if it means doing away with all of you in the process!"

With that, Ebemon pointed his cannon at Davis and Ken. Before he could fire at the two DigiDestined, Paildramon swooped in between them.

****Paildramon…Mega Digivolve to…Imperialdramon!****

Paildramon had reached the Mega level and Megas didn't come bigger in size than Imperialdramon. There was a momentary standoff, which gave Davis the opening he needed. A Digiport would punch Ebemon's ticket back to the Digital World.

"I would love a computer right about now," Davis whispered.

"I know what you mean," Ken whispered back. "Or at least anything with a network connection."

Davis thought about that. "Anything?" He pulled out his cell phone. "It's a new model. Think it might work?"

Davis's new cellular phone carried a wireless network connection. It was the best they had since there were no computers where they were.

"It's worth a try," Ken replied. "Hold it up." Davis held up his cell phone while Ken held up his Digivice. "Digiport open!"

Amazingly, a Digiport did open and it was big enough to fit Ebemon. But the extraterrestrial Mega wasn't about to go away quietly. He pointed his cannon at Imperialdramon.

"This is a very powerful cannon, capable of destroying even the strongest of Digimon. You don't scare me, Imperialdramon."

Imperialdramon responded with an attack. "Positron Laser!"

Imperialdramon aimed his attack very carefully. He nailed Ebemon right on the hand, disabling the arm cannon. Ebemon screamed in pain and stumbled around, holding his arm. What he didn't see was another Digimon rushing towards him at full speed. Just as Ebemon raised his head, the Digimon had jumped in the air and was coming right at him.

"Justice Kick!"

Ebemon was caught completely off-guard by the sudden flying kick. He staggered back and fell right into the Digiport, which Davis and Ken quickly closed. A lucky break was all it took to end this battle, but now Davis was curious as to who saved the day. Davis had never seen this Digimon before and unlike Beelzemon, this one did not look familiar to Davis at all.

Terriermon looked over and identified this one, too. "Justimon!"

"Justimon?" Davis and Ken repeated.

Terriermon walked up to Justimon. "A Mega. Ryo Biomerged."

Ken was taken aback. "Ryo? Is that you?"

"I guess I never told you this about myself," Justimon answered. "We really DO have a lot of catching up to do."

"I guess we do," Ken agreed. "Is there a reason that Digimon was after you?"

"I have no idea," Justimon replied. "He swore Cyberdramon and I did something, but I don't know what he's talking about."

Davis's attention was elsewhere. He walked over to Beelzemon, who was barely getting to his feet while clutching his chest.

"You ok?" Patamon asked.

"It's just a flesh wound, I'll be fine," Beelzemon grumbled. He saw Davis staring right at him. "What are YOU staring at?"

"I've seen you before," Davis said frankly. "I remember you."

Ken and Justimon cut their conversation short when they heard that. Beelzemon gave Davis an inquisitive look. Meanwhile, Imperialdramon separated and reverted to their rookie forms. Veemon walked up to Davis and also took a good look at Beelzemon.

"I've seen you before, too," Veemon pointed out.

"I've never seen any of yous before," Beelzemon said sharply. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Beelzemon…" Davis began. "I remember a Beelzemon…a year ago…when I was in the Dark Ocean."

Everyone went silent upon hearing that. It was a night Davis would never forget*.

"Dark Ocean?" Beelzemon repeated. "That sounds…familiar. I'm…I'm…"

Beelzemon held his head. It was as if he was struggling to remember. He fired a shot into the air and stood upright. He got a closer look at Davis and Veemon.

"You and I need to talk…but not now."

Beelzemon turned and started running. Terriermon tried to catch up to him, but there was no catching Beelzemon.

"Hey, get back here!" Terriermon called out. He crossed his arms. "Still not a team player."

"Davis, what do you mean you remember him?" Ken asked.

Davis just looked at Patamon. "Patamon, you remember him, don't you?"

Patamon nodded. "I didn't recognize him until you mentioned the Dark Ocean. But I remember him now. You'd think he'd remember us."

"I remember going into the Dark Ocean a year ago with TK and Kari," Davis explained. "And that's where we met Beelzemon."

It was all coming back to Davis. He recalled meeting the disgruntled Beelzemon while in the Dark Ocean and he remembered leaving Beelzemon behind. It was certainly surreal to see Beelzemon again…and it was interesting that the renegade Digimon didn't remember him.

* * *

Kari moaned. "OHHHHH…my head!!"

When Kari opened her eyes, the entire room was spinning. She didn't know where she was or what hit her. All she felt was a jackhammer pounding inside her skull. Raising her head and sitting up was the most painful thing she had done in a while. Somehow, she mustered enough strength to sit up and look around. That's when she realized something. She wasn't in her room.

The surroundings were familiar, but Kari wasn't in her room. She was in Yolei's room and lying on Yolei's bed. Then she looked at the wall clock. It was seven in the morning. The night before was a total blur. She was still wearing her nightgown from the night before. She didn't know how she ended up here.

Then Kari turned her head to her right. Someone else was lying down next to her. She pulled up the covers and realized she wasn't in the bed by herself. The person next to her stirred, revealing a head of short blond hair. It was TK. Kari started to put two and two together.

Kari immediately reached for the first pillow she could get her hands on and started pounding TK with it repeatedly and relentlessly.

"OW! HEY! WHAT THE?! KARI!"

"You creep!" Kari shouted. "You jerk! What's the big idea?! How could you?!"

"How could I what?" TK cried.

"What am I doing here IN BED with you?!" Kari demanded. "And…why is my head pounding?! I've never had this big a headache before."

TK shook his head. "Hangover. You don't have a clue, do you? Do you remember what happened last night?"

Kari hesitated. "I…I don't. TK…we didn't…um…"

TK blinked. "Huh?" Then he got the hint. "HUH? NO! No, no, no, no, no! Nothing like that! Kari, you know I wouldn't do anything like that to you." He looked Kari in the eye. "You really DON'T remember what happened last night, do you?"

Kari fell back on the bed. "I remember leaving Davis's frat party…getting to Kazu and Kenta's pajama party…and everything from there is a blank."

"Remember drinking anything before you got to Kazu and Kenta's party?" TK asked.

Kari thought hard. "Just this really awful punch. It tasted like…like…"

"Alcohol?" TK finished.

Kari went silent. It was finally starting to sink in. She didn't remember anything that happened last night…because she had gotten drunk. Somebody spiked her punch…and that's when she immediately thought of those jerks from Davis's fraternity. They must have been the ones who spiked her punch. She felt so angry at them…but also felt angry at herself. She couldn't believe she did something so stupid like taking a drink of strange punch when she knew it had been in their hands.

"What…did I do?" Kari asked, almost fearfully.

TK sighed. "Well, you left a lasting impression on everyone at the party. You nearly broke your hip on the dance floor, you couldn't walk straight, and you pretty much made a fool out of yourself. You came THIS CLOSE to throwing up on the floor. Yolei asked me to bring you back here and watch over you. And then…" TK paused. "Uh…I brought you back up here and you passed out."

Kari couldn't believe what she was hearing. She buried her face in her hands. "Oh my goodness…I'm so embarrassed!"

TK patted her on the back. "Don't worry about it. Things could have turned out a lot worse. Your would-be kidnapper tried again last night."

Kari raised her head. "What? What do you mean? What happened?"

"The Digimon Empress came in while you passed out," TK explained. "She carried you out the window and tried to run away with you, but she dropped you as soon as she saw me coming after her. She almost got away, but I was lucky Tai showed up. We grabbed her and…we unmasked her. Kari…it's Rosa."

Kari's eyes widened. "Rosa? I don't believe it! Why?"

"We don't know. She managed to escape. We were lucky to even stop her for a second. It's a good thing Tai was around."

"Wait, TK. Tai…he didn't notice I was…you know…"

TK shook his head. "I told him you passed out, but he doesn't know it was from alcohol. Trust me, you're safe…in more ways than one."

Kari hesitated before asking her next question. "So what happens now?"

"Well…Tai's going to call one big meeting tomorrow night. We're all going to meet—

DigiDestined and Tamers—and decide our next move…if any. All we know is, we're going to be a lot more cautious from now on. But in the meantime…I have a lot of cleaning up to do. The entire hall must be a mess from that pajama party last night." TK got to his feet. "So I'd better go." 

Kari frowned. "Oh…ok. Well…I'll see you later."

TK started walking out, likely heading back to his room. But as soon as he was out there, Kari felt the need to call him back.

"TK?"

TK stuck his head back in the room. "Yeah?"

Kari smiled. "Thank you…for being there for me. Thank you for everything."

TK scoffed. "Don't worry about it. Just…don't get drunk again anytime soon."

Kari giggled. "I won't. Thanks, TK."

TK walked out and as soon as he was gone, the smile on Kari's face faded. He had always been there for her, even after they broke up. He was such a good friend to her. She would never be able to repay him for the things he had done for her. Even since they were young kids, TK was always looking out for her. In fact…TK had never really betrayed her.

No, the only issue Kari ever really had with TK involved the delicate issue of trust. And she honestly couldn't think of a way to indicate if he had really learned his lesson.

At first, Kari thought her emotions were giving her butterflies in her stomach. But she suddenly realized that what she felt in her stomach wasn't butterflies. She felt like her insides had gone through a blender…and the product was just about done. Now her stomach felt like a volcano…that was about to erupt.

Unable to hold it in any longer, Kari leaned over the side of Yolei's bed and retched. What was once Yolei and Catherine's clean floor now turned into a janitor's nightmare.

Kari, obviously feeling ashamed, reached over for some towels. She could clean up the mess, but she didn't know how she would explain the unmistakable stench of vomit to Yolei.

"No more drinking…EVER!"

* * *

Joe's legs had nearly fallen asleep after being seated on the shrine's wooden floor for so long. He and Mimi were now at a nearby shrine, a place Ms. Mackenzie called her second home. She said she came here very often before she left for the university and this was where she started seeing prophecies regarding the Digimon.

The unusual woman hadn't started seeing any of the prophecies until she first reached Odaiba for the first time. The prophecy was vague in nature, but Ms. Mackenzie did tell some of the things she saw. Some of the prophecies she saw already happened. The rest of the visions weren't clear.

"What else did you see?" Joe asked.

"The reason I called Dr. Marquez over today was because I saw her adopted daughter in one of my visions. A young woman in a flashy costume and cape with dark sunglasses stood amidst the darkness…"

"The Digimon Empress!" Mimi interrupted.

Ms. Mackenzie nodded. "She stood in the darkness and removed the blond wig and sunglasses to reveal Dr. Marquez's adopted daughter, Rosa."

Joe didn't expect to hear that. "Rosa? Are you sure?"

"I've seen prophecies before," Ms. Mackenzie replied. "They don't lie."

"What else did you see?" Mimi asked.

Ms. Mackenzie took a sip of her tea. "I remember seeing visions of large monsters roaming around the city, some of which had already been sighted and taken care of. I also remember seeing the heroes who saved Odaiba from those attacks…and you two were among them. But there's much more to what I've been seeing—especially lately. Everything seems to be leading to something."

"So I just have one question," Mimi cut in. "What happens next?"

"I haven't been able to determine what happens next," Ms. Mackenzie answered. She slowly took a sip of her tea and looked up to the sky. "The next part of the prophecy wasn't clear. All I can decipher from it is that there will soon be a climactic battle."

"We've seen enough battles to last us a lifetime," Joe sighed. "And a lot of them qualify as 'climactic'. Could you elaborate?"

Ms. Mackenzie didn't answer right away, but eventually replied. "The sky will be covered in darkness. I see light, but the light…is struggling to break through the darkness. And as time goes on, the light continues to fade away…until the light is eventually extinguished."

Joe bit his lower lip. "It may just be me, but that doesn't sound too good."

Mimi grimaced. "Yeah, I don't like the sound of any of that. Any idea when that might happen?"

There was a brief silence. That put Joe on edge. Silence was hardly ever a good sign. Ms. Mackenzie simply got to her feet and put on her sunglasses. It was an ominous sign to say the least.

"There's no telling when it will happen," Ms. Mackenzie finally said. "All I can say is…it will happen soon."

* * *

Things seemed to be getting worse down in the Server base. Only now were the machines coming close to being repaired, but there were still many that were far from fully operational. Datamon worked extremely hard to make sure every one of the machines were fully functional again, but he wasn't close to completing that task and the ones that were fixed weren't bringing good news. One of the supercomputers that did work indicated that Ebemon had failed. He had been defeated by the DigiDestined and the Tamers and wound up back in the Digital World before completing his task of eliminating the Cyberdramon and his Tamer.

But things got worse. Datamon also got another piece of bad news—one that was sure to cripple his sinister efforts. The Digimon Empress's identity had been discovered. The DigiDestined and the Tamers knew who she was. It was obvious that they would now have their guard up and would be far more cautious. The element of surprise was gone and Datamon no longer had the luxury of having a spy on his side.

For that, Puppetmon needed to deliver a message. The Digimon Empress's services were no longer required. She would have to be disposed of and Puppetmon was more than happy to volunteer for that task. He menacingly twirled his hammer in his hands, waiting for her to come in. The wooden fiend didn't like her from day one.

Puppetmon didn't have to wait long before he spotted his target. The Digimon Empress, holding her glasses in her hand so that her face was clearly visible, stood in the shadows and slowly stepped forward. She had a look of fearlessness in her eyes, even though she clearly saw Puppetmon in a position to strike.

"You have failed," Datamon said coldly. "The DigiDestined and the Tamers have discovered you and thus our advantage is lost. You remained a valuable servant to us and the Dark One for one reason: for the fact that you could easily infiltrate the Odaiba University campus and watch over the DigiDestined and the Tamers. Regrettably, there is no reason to keep you around now that that opportunity has expired. It is time for us to part ways…Rosa."

"In other words, you blew it, toots!" Puppetmon added. "Game over!"

Puppetmon rushed forward with his hammer hovering overhead. Rosa simply stood still, not wavering away for a second. The girl stood her ground, fully knowing Puppetmon was moving in for the kill. Datamon soon saw why. Just as Puppetmon was within striking distance, a large lance fell in between them, crashing on the ground with a loud boom.

It stopped Puppetmon in his tracks and had the wooden one looking up at the massive frame of ChaosGallantmon. The hulking monster came to Rosa's aid.

Rosa simply raised an eyebrow. "Useless? I think someone behind me believes otherwise."

Datamon had nearly forgotten about the product of the remaining Black Gears. Somehow, Rosa had created some kind of bond with ChaosGallantmon. Whether the link was psychic, telepathic, or otherwise was yet to be determined, but the fact remained that Rosa seemed to be the only one to control the unstoppable menace.

Datamon casually tapped on the control panel. "Perhaps I was a bit hasty."

"You were?" Puppetmon grumbled. "I can crush the tin can too, you know. The bigger they are, the more there is to smash!"

"No!" Datamon snapped. "The Digimon Empress's identity may be exposed, but as long as she can lead ChaosGallantmon into battle, there is still a place for her. He is, after all, our greatest weapon."

"Huh? What am I?" Puppetmon growled. "Chopped wood?"

Rosa chuckled. "There's nothing left to talk about. The DigiDestined and the Tamers will be beaten…one way or another. I'll let you two figure out how. If you want me, you know where to reach me."

With that, Rosa turned to leave and ChaosGallantmon returned to his chamber. The Digimon Empress obviously wasn't about to be eliminated anytime soon—not while she controlled the ultimate trump card. After she left, Puppetmon slammed his hammer on the ground out of frustration.

"She's not gonna do us any better, you know!"

"That's where you're wrong, Puppetmon," an evil voice boomed across the lair.

Datamon immediately dropped what he was doing, because he knew that voice. The Dark One appeared on one of the functional supercomputer screens. The lights in the lair began to flicker, which never happened before when the Dark One appeared.

"Your presence is most unexpected, Dark One," Datamon said. "What can we do for you?"

"The Digimon Empress must be kept around!" the Dark One bellowed. "Her presence will be a turning point in our fight against the DigiDestined and the Tamers. She will be play in integral role in our impending invasion. She is not to be harmed!"

"W-W-Whatever you say, Dark One," Datamon replied. He turned to Puppetmon. "You heard him! You leave that young lady alone, you ignominious wooden marionette!"

"You can't call me that!" Puppetmon yelled angrily. "At least not until I get a dictionary, anyway!"

"She won't be harmed, Dark One," Datamon said calmly. "You have my word."

"Excellent! You both shall be rewarded soon…because it is nearly time for my invasion."

With that, the feed ended. Datamon didn't expect to hear that piece of news. But if it was true, then the fruits of all his labors would soon pay off. The Dark One was almost here.

* * *

The next morning, after a lot of coaxing from Kazu and Kenta, Henry finally gave in and begrudgingly took the daunting task of taking a look at Guardromon. After so many years of confusing Kazu's commands, Kazu thought that Guardromon must have had some crossed wires. So Henry, with Terriermon on his shoulder, had Kazu and Kenta bring the absent-minded android over to the university's robotics lab.

Of course, that task brought a lot of complaints.

"I'm getting tired of lugging Guardromon around," Kenta whined. "We have to take him apart every time we want to get him out of the freshman building."

"This'll be the last time we have to bring him out for a while, so don't complain," Kazu muttered. "Besides, it'll all be worth it if Guardromon gets properly reprogrammed. How's everything looking, Henry?"

Henry was busy doing some rewiring. He wasn't as familiar with the wiring designs of android Digimon—at least not as familiar as his father must have been. But Henry was giving it his best effort, along with the helpful Terriermon, who kept passing tools over with his right ear. Henry wasn't sure if any of the modifications he was making would actually work, but he figured it was at least worth a try.

After a long reprogramming process, Henry wrapped up his work and stood upright. His legs were sore from kneeling down behind Guardromon for so long. Terriermon climbed up on a nearby stool and jumped on Henry's shoulder from there.

"He should be ok now," Henry said. "You guys want to try him out?"

Kazu stepped forward. "Ok, Guardromon. How do you feel?"

"Better than ever!" Guardromon said jubilantly. "I feel like a million bolts!"

"Alright, then. Let's see just how much Henry fixed you. I'll think of a really simple task for you to do. Uh…ok, I've got one. Guardromon, make me a sandwich."

Guardromon made his way towards the loaf of bread that Kenta brought in, just in case Henry took the whole day. Guardromon sliced the bread in half and then began fixing up a turkey sandwich. He laid out the mayonnaise, added the turkey slices, poured the mustard on, added lettuce and tomatoes, and finished by adding some cheese. Holding both halves of the sandwich, Guardromon brought them over to Kazu…and proceeded to slam them on each side of his face.

"You're a sandwich."

Kazu nodded sarcastically. Kenta slid a finger down his friend's cheek to catch some of the mustard and mayonnaise that was dribbling down and tasted it.

"You make a good sandwich, Kazu."

"Ha…ha…ha," Kazu grumbled. "Henry, I think there are a few BUGS that still need to be worked out!"

Henry shook his head. "I don't get it. I thought that would have been enough."

Suddenly, someone else walked into the robotics lab. It was one of the university's professors, Professor Junichiro. Henry nearly slapped his forehead. He forgot to make sure the doors were closed. Upon seeing the professor come in, Terriermon played 'stuffed animal'. Unfortunately for the long-eared Digimon, he couldn't keep his balance on Henry's shoulder and ended up flopping down to the ground, taking what looked like a painful pratfall.

"Good morning, Mr. Wong," Professor Junichiro said. "I couldn't help but notice the fine work you've been doing. I knew you were talented, but I had no idea you were this brilliant. You actually have a real, fully-functioning robot."

Henry, Kazu, and Kenta all sweatdropped. The professor actually thought they had a real robot on their hands. While Guardromon WAS technically an android, he wasn't really a robot. He was a Digimon. Of course, it wasn't like any of them could enlighten the professor to that fact.

Henry didn't know what to say. "Uh…yeah…robot. But…he's…far from perfected!"

"That's fine, Mr. Wong. But this work you DO have so far is quite outstanding. I'm sure you can fix whatever minor glitches your robot has, but…this is amazing! This is livelier than any other robot I've seen in all my years of teaching robotics. I know natural talent when I see it. What else can your robot do?"

Henry's sweatdrop didn't go away. "Uh…what else can he do? Um…he can…uh…um…oh!" Henry extended his hand towards Guardromon for a handshake. "Guardromon, shake!"

The sweatdrop Henry had only got bigger when Guardromon started vibrating wildly. Whatever repairs Henry made, it appears he only made the android's malfunctions worse. He didn't solve any problems at all. Of course, there was no convincing Professor Junichiro of that.

Henry grinned sheepishly. "See? Bugs."

"But…it's STILL a working robot!" Professor Junichiro pointed out. "That's still amazing work! Mr. Wong, I'd like to enter you and your Guardromon robot into our annual robotics fair."

Henry quickly tried to cut that suggestion off. "Oh no, sir. I couldn't enter my robot. It's…far from perfected."

"Are you sure about that? In my opinion, this is clearly the frontrunner to win the competition. I believe you should enter it. First prize is 10,000 yen."

Henry was about to decline again, but Kazu quickly stepped in.

"He'll do it!"

"Yeah! We're in!" Kenta added.

"Guys!" Henry snapped.

"Ah, so you WILL do it!" Professor Junichiro grinned.

Henry sweatdropped again. "Uh…I…I…guess so…"

"Excellent! I will enter your name into the Robotics Fair immediately. I am eager to see your Guardromon robot on display. I'm sure the entire student body will be dazzled."

"Um…dazzled…would be one word," Henry said nervously.

"I am confident that you will perfect any flaws in your robot. Good luck with everything, Mr. Wong. The Robotics Fair is this Friday. Good day."

After Professor Junichiro left, Henry gulped. "This Friday?"

With the professor gone, Terriermon picked himself up and rubbed his backside. "Oh man…I'm not taking another fall like that again. I'm not a stunt mon."

"Don't worry about a thing, Henry," Kazu said nonchalantly. "We can have Guardromon fixed up and ready to go by Friday—in time to win that 10,000 yen."

Henry frowned. "Haven't you guys even noticed that I managed to make Guardromon WORSE?"

Kenta chuckled. "It could be worse." He looked at the mustard and mayonnaise on Kazu's face. "Kazu hasn't looked that good in years."

Kazu clearly wasn't amused and turned to his partner. "Guardromon, make Kenta a salad."

Guardromon nodded. "Ok."

Kenta knew what was coming. He started running around the lab while Guardromon gave chase, hoping to make a salad out of the young freshman. Henry only covered his face.

He had his work cut out for him if he wanted to turn Guardromon into a fully functioning robot before Friday.

  


Next Week: The DigiDestined and the Tamers have a meeting to discuss Tai and TK's discovery. Meanwhile, Agumon and his ragtag group of Digimon are still at Koromon Village, but are met with an unexpected visitor. And with the humans all at a meeting, Renamon and Gatomon decide to do a little bonding. But what happens when Impmon suggests a game of TRUTH OR DARE?! Things may get ugly once sensitive subjects start coming up. Watch what happens on the next Digimon: The College Years!

  


*****- Davis did meet up with a Beelzemon. Fans of my crossovers will remember the meeting in "Keeping Secrets" (which is also the story where Kari first agreed to go out with Davis).

  


Any comments? Then mail me at AmericanCaptor@hotmail.com and don't forget to review below. Again, sorry for the lateness of this chapter.


	35. Koromon Massacre

Last Week: Paildramon took the fight to Ebemon, but the fused Digimon wasn't enough to overcome the fiendish foe. Beelzemon soon joined the fight with his guns blazing, warming Ebemon up for Imperialdramon and Justimon, who knocked the extraterrestrial Digimon back to the Digital World. Things got interesting when Davis revealed that he recognized Beelzemon from a year before. Meanwhile, Joe and Mimi were having tea with Ms. Mackenzie and learning about the prophecies she had been seeing—and apparently, there's a big battle coming in the future. The next morning, Kari finally came to and woke up with a huge hangover…and TK lying next to her. After explaining to her what happened, TK notes that Tai has called for a meeting of the DigiDestined and the Tamers to take place the next night. Kazu and Kenta are busy trying to clean up the mess from the pajama party of the night before and ask trusty Guardromon to help. Unfortunately, Guardromon gets mixed up again which leads Kazu to the conclusion that his partner has had his wires crossed. That leads to Henry getting called in to help fix him up. But despite making Guardromon WORSE, Henry's work apparently impressed the robotics professor, Professor Junichiro, to a point where Henry has been encouraged to enter this year's Robotics Fair.

  


**Digimon: The College Years**

Episode 35- Koromon Massacre

  


More than 24 hours had passed since Tai made that fateful discovery. Make no mistake about it, he was relieved that the person masquerading as The Digimon Empress wasn't Catherine, but he was still shocked to learn that it was Rosa. Whoever it was, she was still a major threat to the DigiDestined and Tamers, as well as Tai's little sister, who had been targeted. With that in mind, Tai called for an emergency meeting of the DigiDestined and the Tamers.

Of course, bad timing still had a way of interjecting itself. The fourth floor lounge was being used by another student club, so Tai had to find another site for the meeting. It didn't take long for him to use his craftiness and creativity, though. Tai soon found a place to meet and now he found himself waiting for everybody else to show up. The only ones there thus far were the older DigiDestined, but for some reason, they didn't seem to like the site of the meeting very much.

"You couldn't find a worse place to meet, could you, Tai?" Matt grumbled.

"Don't be so hard on him," Joe said. As usual, he had Gomamon in his arms, since Gomamon wouldn't stay put in Joe's apartment. "I'm sure Tai could find a worse place to meet if he really tried. Just be thankful things haven't gotten any worse."

"You mean things get worse?" Mimi whined. "I've never seen so much dust in my life! I just bought this dress three days ago and now it's full of dirt! Thanks a lot, Tai!"

Tai drummed his fingers on a nearby wooden crate. "So I take it you guys don't really…like this place?"

"It's not that we don't LIKE it, per se, Tai," Sora tried saying. "But…well…we HATE it! This has got to be one of the worst meeting places ever."

"It's not as bad as when Tai had us all meet at the cemetery back when we were kids," Izzy pointed out. Like Joe, he was carrying Tentomon in his arms. "We spent half the meeting looking over our shoulders."

"Point taken," Mimi nodded.

"Wait, what's wrong with THIS place?" Tai asked.

As if on cue, dozens upon dozens of festively colored lights turned on around the older DigiDestined. Equipped with time-sensitive mechanisms that would activate upon nightfall, dozens of Christmas lights, holiday decorations, and animatronic dogs with reindeer antlers that would bark to the tune of "Jingle Bells" all turned on. Indeed, Tai had called for a meeting of the DigiDestined and the Tamers inside one of the university's storage facilities—the storage facility that happened to contain the university's Christmas decorations.

"Any other dumb questions?" Matt growled.

"Ok, so I admit this isn't exactly the best place to meet," Tai sighed. "But I couldn't find any other place on such short notice."

While the only ones there for the moment were the older DigiDestined, that didn't last long. The next one to come in was Takato, who came in with his loyal partner, Guilmon. Guilmon, as usual these days, was wearing his Odaiba U sweatshirt, so he must have been coming back from practice. Takato slowed down when he realized he was surrounded by Christmas lights and animatronic dogs barking to the tune of "Jingle Bells".

"Uh…I didn't know there was a Christmas theme to tonight's meeting," Takato muttered. "I would have brought my Santa hat."

Guilmon sniffed around, stopping by the barking animatronic dogs. "They look so real. Why don't we have any of these at home, Takato?"

"Because if you did, I'd personally have to kill you," another voice called out. It was Rika, who came in with Kari and Yolei.

"She makes a good point, boy," Takato noted. "Remember that year we put up the singing Santa Claus on our porch?"

"Is that the year she hit you with a giant candy cane?" Guilmon asked.

Takato sweatdropped. "Yeah…you remember that. So Rika, where's Jeri?"

"Kari and I haven't seen her all day," Rika answered. "We don't know where she's been."

Takato scratched the back of his head. "This is too weird. Where has she been going lately? Any ideas, Rika?"

"She's YOUR girlfriend, Goggle Head," Rika scoffed. "How should *I* know?"

As mysterious as Jeri's whereabouts were, Sora changed the subject towards Kari, who was recovering from nearly being taken by the renegade Rosa.

"How are you feeling, Kari?" she asked.

"F-Fine. Why do you ask?" Kari replied nervously.

Mimi shook her head. "Just as I thought. She's still shaken up. A near-abduction will do that to a girl."

Kari grinned sheepishly. "Yeah…near-abduction…"

"Yeah. Not like it could be anything else," Yolei grinned, who was greeted with a subtle elbow to the stomach from Rika.

"Hey, check this out," someone else said. "Christmas in springtime."

Kazu, Kenta, and Henry all came in next. They all had their partners with them. Terriermon leapt off Henry's shoulder to get a closer view of the barking dogs. He was fascinated at first, but was soon rolling his ears up in an attempt to cover them.

"Is there any way to shut them off?" Terriermon shouted.

"I think they're stuck like that until midnight," Joe answered.

"It's times like this I HATE having long ears," Terriermon grumbled.

"I kinda like it," Guilmon grinned. "It's catchy."

"Haven't seen you guys in a while," Takato told his friends that just came in. "Where have you guys been hiding yourselves?"

"We've been getting Henry and Guardromon ready for this year's Robotics Fair," Kazu answered.

"Robotics Fair?" Takato repeated.

"Don't ask," Henry sighed. "Let's just say I have to get Guardromon in working condition before the Robotics Fair."

"Sounds intriguing," Izzy cut in. "How's that coming along?"

"I think he's making progress," Kazu replied.

"Ask Guardromon to do something," Kenta added.

Izzy walked up to Guardromon. "Ok. Guardromon, do a headstand."

Everyone braced themselves for a demonstration. There would have been an awed silence if not for the animatronic dogs still barking out "Jingle Bells." Unfortunately, it wasn't what they all had in mind. Guardromon pulled his head off and proceeded to stand on top of it.

Kenta chuckled nervously. "Well…technically, it's a headstand."

"I feel like his wires are getting more crossed by the day," Kazu growled. "Haven't you figured out how to fix him yet, Henry?"

"I've been trying, but this isn't easy!" Henry shot back. "I feel like I keep making him worse. I'm running out of ideas."

Izzy walked over and started examining the malfunctioning robot Digimon. "Maybe I can help. Name me a time and a place and I can give him a checkup."

Kazu shrugged. "Well, it's worth a shot. It's not like things can get any worse."

"I'm glad you feel that way, Kazu," Guardromon said. "Right now, I feel like I haven't a head to stand on."

Kazu groaned at the bad joke. "Ok, maybe they can. How does tomorrow sound, Izzy?"

"Tomorrow's fine with me."

While Izzy made his plans for tomorrow, Tai looked around to make sure everyone was present. He noticed that not everyone was there, but didn't know exactly who remained.

"Ok, so is that everybody?!" Tai cried out. He was forced to raise his voice over the barking of the animatronic dogs. "Who are we missing?"

Takato looked around. "We're missing Davis, TK, Ken, and…uh…"

"Me?"

Tai saw who was at the door of the storage facility and breathed a sigh of relief. "The guest of honor. Come in, Cody."

Despite it being a school night, Cody Hida managed to get to the university for this meeting. Tai knew how imperative it was that he show up, since he'd probably be able to provide some of the most important answers.

"So that just leaves Davis, TK, and Ken?" Matt asked.

Someone knocked on the open storage facility door before sticking his head in. "Hello? Is this where the meeting's being held?"

Rika's face immediately turned red. "How did YOU find out about this, Ryo?"

"I got a little phone call from Kari. She wanted me to meet you all here."

"I wasn't the only one who was attacked the other night," Kari explained. "Ryo was also targeted by a Digimon attack that night. So I figured it would be best if I invited him to the meeting tonight."

"You got attacked, too, Ryo?" Matt asked.

"Save the questions for when the meeting starts," Tai growled. "Now where are Davis, TK, and Ken?"

As if on cue, the three DigiDestined in question literally stumbled through the door, one falling on top of the other…with TK on the bottom.

"Can you guys get off me?" TK groaned.

Davis and Ken both rolled off of TK's back and stood up. With everyone present, Tai wanted to go ahead and pound his gavel. Of course, he didn't have a gavel, so he simply pounded a brick on a wooden reindeer…inadvertently plowing right through its wooden back in the process.

Tai chuckled nervously before tossing the brick aside. "Uh…meeting called to order. Glad you could all show up tonight. As you all know, something big has happened in the last few days and it's something we all need to discuss as a group. For those of you who don't know…and since most of you were at the pajama party, I'll bet a lot of you don't…"

Kazu and Kenta exchanged a high five.

Tai cleared his throat. "A lot of you are probably unaware that Kari was almost taken by that Digimon Empress last night. And many of you are probably unaware that in trying to take Kari, TK and I not only managed to stop her, but we also managed to unmask her. For those who don't know…our Digimon Empress turned out to be Rosa."

That created a lot of murmuring amongst the crowd of DigiDestined and Tamers. Apparently, word hadn't gotten around and with the heavy burdens that college brings to students, it didn't surprise Tai in the least. But particularly, after the initial shock, everyone started looking at Ken.

Ken blinked. "Why are you all looking at me?"

"People, we can stare at Ken later," Tai sighed. "I know Rosa makes us all want to look at him, but the one we SHOULD be looking at…is Cody."

As if on cue, everyone shifted their gazes to Cody. Everyone was picking up on Tai's logic now.

"Cody, you're in Rosa's class, right?" Matt asked. "I mean, you're both juniors in high school."

"I guess you could say that," Cody replied. "But Rosa…as The Digimon Empress? Makes sense, considering she hasn't been seen around school in weeks."

Izzy's eyes widened. "Weeks?"

Mimi tugged on Joe's sleeve. "Joe? Didn't we hear Ms. Mackenzie mentioning this to Dr. Marquez?"

"Rosa's mom?" Ken asked. "What are you guys talking about?"

"Ms. Mackenzie was warning Dr. Marquez of something involving Rosa," Joe explained. "This must be what she meant. Ms. Mackenzie somehow knows something. She explained to us that she's been seeing visions."

"And the visions don't get any better, so a happy ending might not be in the works," Mimi said grimly.

"What else do you know, Cody?" Joe asked.

"Not much else to note," Cody answered. "But looking back…this really isn't much of a shock. She's been starting to change over these last few months."

"What do you mean?" TK asked.

"I never knew Rosa to be that smart. But recently before her disappearance, Rosa started displaying…well…brilliance that no one ever knew she was capable of. The teachers were talking about moving her into more advanced classes. And don't even get me started on what kind of skill she suddenly started showing on the soccer field. It's like she became Odaiba's best soccer player overnight. But the changes didn't end there.

"Lately, she's also been more prone to anger. The smallest thing would tick her off. And it recently started to get more physical. Before she disappeared, she nearly broke a teammate's leg."

Davis bit his lower lip. "Doesn't sound like the lovey-dovey Rosa I've been seeing."

Yolei turned her head. "Ken? What is it?"

Ken had a distant look on his face as he took all this in. "This is all so familiar. I know what's going on."

Everyone went silent. All eyes were on Ken now, but the silence seemed too awkward to break.

"Well…by all means, tell us," Tai coaxed.

"There's only one explanation for Rosa's sudden changes. It's a Dark Spore."

Rika frowned. "I know I'm going to be sorry I asked, but what's a Dark Spore?"

"A Dark Spore is a seed of darkness that was once planted in each of Odaiba's children. With enough negative emotions, a Dark Spore can turn a child into a tool for evil. They were created by an evil Digimon called MaloMyotismon. But we were all able to stop MaloMyotismon and the Dark Spores within the children have all been kept neutralized."

"But when did Rosa ever get a Dark Spore implanted?" Cody pointed out.

"Those are questions that would be nice to answer and all, but there's something else we should be worrying about," Tai cut in. "She'll likely still come after Kari and we're still unsure why. We've got to do something."

Silence. Nothing could be heard except the barking of the animatronic dogs.

Tai sweatdropped. "So…any suggestions?"

Kari also sweatdropped. "Maybe I should get myself a bodyguard."

Tai perked up. "You know, that's not such a bad idea. I'm sure we can plan around a few schedules."

Kari's sweatdrop didn't fade. "Wait! Tai…I wasn't serious!"

"I don't want anybody leaving her side. I want a DigiDestined or a Tamer with a Digimon partner at Kari's side at all times. I don't want her alone for a second. During class, during lunch, during all times of the day—whether she's on-campus, off-campus, in the dorms, in the shower…"

"TAI!" Kari snapped.

"I think we get the point," Matt cut in. "We should start making shifts."

Kari bit her lower lip. "Shifts? I don't like the sound of this."

* * *

To say the year had been interesting would be a tremendous understatement. Impmon was worried that things would be boring, but with everything that had happened (Digimon-related or not), it was anything but that. And it was never more evident than in Rika, Kari, and Jeri's room, where four Digimon also occupied the area.

But of course, things had gotten a lot quieter there in recent weeks. A lot of it had to do with the recent reconciliation of Gatomon and Renamon, two lifelong rivals who were attempting to put aside their long-time grudges to at least get along for the rest of the year, even if they weren't friends. And without the back-and-forth conflict between the two, things quickly got dull.

Gatomon was about to sit and take a nap on the ground. Renamon was about to lie down herself while Calumon was getting his cabinet drawer reader. Impmon couldn't believe they were really about to turn in. It was only ten o'clock.

"You know, things ain't as exciting as they used to be," Impmon noted.

"With everything that's been happening lately, you don't think that's exciting?" Gatomon muttered dryly.

"That's not what I mean," Impmon responded. "I mean that things with you and Renamon ain't what they used to be. There ain't no excitement with youse two anymore. You know, youse two would always be tryin' to see who was the better Digimon and all that good stuff. Maybe youse guys don't think it was so great, but at least it added a little fun here and there."

There was a brief pause. Gatomon was obviously trying to understand what Impmon was saying, but it didn't take Renamon long to figure it out.

"I believe what Impmon is saying is that he'd like to see a competition," Renamon noted. "Even if it is a friendly one."

Impmon would have loved to see a competition, but he had other things on his mind. He had a much better idea.

"I don't want to say…competition, per se," Impmon said. "It's more like a friendly little game. Like…oh say…Truth or Dare?"

"Since when would YOU suggest anything like Truth or Dare?" Renamon asked suspiciously.

"Since I thought about how much fun things could get," Impmon smirked.

As hard it was for Renamon to understand, it wasn't a difficult concept for Impmon. Was a game of Truth or Dare exactly the "Impmon way"? Far from it. But when he thought of the notion that some of the truths or dares could strike a nerve, the mischievous one felt there was no better way to spend the night.

Calumon eagerly stuck his head out from his cabinet drawer. "Ooh! Can I play?"

"Sure, why not?" Impmon grinned. "So let's get this thing goin' already."

Impmon didn't waste any time. "Renamon, truth or dare?"

Renamon thought about it. "Dare."

Impmon handed her Gatomon's bent litter box. "I dare you to make a BIGGER dent on this over Gatomon's head."

Gatomon's eyes widened. "HUH?!"

Renamon didn't hesitate. "Gladly." She took the litter box and clobbered her rival over the head with it. The loud clang echoed throughout the dorm room and likely throughout the building. Sure enough, there was a much bigger dent in Gatomon's litter box than there was before.

"Hey, what was that for?!" Gatomon demanded.

"Those are the rules of the game," Renamon answered. "And it's not like me to play without honor for the rules. Now I believe it's your turn. Gatomon, truth or dare?"

Gatomon briefly hesitated. "I guess I'll take dare."

Renamon bent down towards Calumon. The little one raised an ear while Renamon whispered something to him. Upon hearing the order, Calumon ran under Rika's bed.

"Ok, cat. I've got a dare for you. Calumon?"

Calumon ran out from under Rika's bed with a bowl in his hand. The bowl was covered in a stack of paper towels. Calumon handed the bowl to Renamon, who promptly removed the paper towels to reveal some kind of green soup.

"I dare you to eat this—no questions asked."

Gatomon sniffed the soup and nearly turned green herself. But she wasn't the type to turn down a challenge, no matter how bizarre. So she took a gulp of the soup…and nearly spit it out.

"What IS that?" Gatomon gagged.

"Some onion and broccoli soup that Rika brought back a week ago from the cafeteria that she never finished."

Gatomon coughed. "AGH! I'm gonna get you for that, Foxy!"

Impmon chuckled. This night was already getting off to a good start. And if this was a taste of things to come, this night would soon be a lot of fun.

* * *

A long time had passed since Agumon and his merry band of Digimon had that furious battle with ChaosGallantmon. Since that day, he and the others remained at the Koromon Village, trying to regroup. Though the mission to destroy the Black Gears was ultimately successful, ChaosGallantmon dominated the battle to a point where even WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon could not defeat him.

The Koromon have been very hospitable and provided them all with a safe haven and a place to think. So far, the only plan of action anyone was able to come up with was to send an e-mail to Tai and Matt. But as far as stopping ChaosGallantmon was concerned, there was no plan of action set. He was undoubtedly one of the most powerful Digimon ever known.

Of course, there was hardly an atmosphere of concern in the Koromon Village. In fact, many of the Koromon were sitting in a circle while Armadillomon walked around them, tapping the tops of their heads. They were playing a game.

"Koromon, Koromon, Koromon, Cockatrimon!"

Upon tapping the "Cockatrimon", the Koromon came out of the circle and started chasing Armadillomon around. As grim as the situation was, it was nice to see that none of the spirits in the village had been dampened.

"Any ideas?"

Agumon turned his head to see that Gabumon was sitting at the stool next to him. "I haven't thought of anything. I guess we did what Gennai wanted us to do, but I've got to believe there's more that we can do to help. I mean, this can't just be it. Can it?"

Hawkmon, in the meantime, was perched atop one of the many tall, luscious trees that inhabited the Koromon Village. He got a good birds-eye view (no pun intended) of the outside of the village, which would inevitably work to help Agumon create a path back to the sea. They would have to return to File Island eventually.

Hawkmon was contentedly standing on one of the branches, but suddenly jumped up and started flapping his wings frantically.

"Agumon! Gabumon! We've got company!!"

Agumon and Gabumon stood up. The game Armadillomon was having with the Koromon came to an immediate halt. The ground started shaking as heavy footsteps could be heard in the distance. The rumbling grew louder as whatever was coming their way came closer. Tall treetops that were visible in the background were soon falling over.

And finally, the intruder approached. The Digimon Empress stepped forward, but behind her was the destructive force that was clearing everything in his path. It was ChaosGallantmon.

Armadillomon walked over behind Agumon and Gabumon while Hawkmon flew down from the tree towards his friends. The four DigiDestined Digimon were now together, facing up to their greatest challenge.

"What do you want?" Gabumon demanded.

"Something attacked our base of operations," The Digimon Empress explained. "I don't suppose YOU four would know anything about that, would you?"

"We don't know anything about your base of operations," Agumon pointed out.

"But if you tell us where it is, maybe we can think of something," Armadillomon quipped.

The Digimon Empress sneered. "Insolence!"

ChaosGallantmon echoed his mistress's displeasure by slamming his lance on the ground, shaking the ground.

"Why don't you keep your mouth SHUT?" Hawkmon snapped at his colleague.

"I'd stop playing games and tell the truth if I were you four," The Digimon Empress snarled. "Talk! What do you know?"

"We've never heard anything about that!" Gabumon shouted.

The Digimon Empress sighed. "Very well. ChaosGallantmon, DESTROY THE VILLAGE! I don't want a single life spared!"

ChaosGallantmon slowly and ominously stepped forward. Sensing that no good could come from him, Agumon and the others desperately tried to attack.

"Pepper Breath!"

"Blue Blaster!"

"Feather Strike!"

"Diamond Shell!"

Just like before, the rookies' attacks harmlessly bounced off the exterior of the hulking Mega. He continued his slow, intimidating pace.

"What now?" Hawkmon asked.

"Run for it!" Agumon shouted.

Agumon and the others tried to run. ChaosGallantmon was about to reach out and stop them with his lance, but he soon unexpectedly found himself on the receiving end of an attack…from the Koromon.

Each and every one of the Koromon were attacking with their Bubble Blow attack. It didn't phase ChaosGallantmon, but it did get his attention which allowed Agumon and the others to make an escape.

"They don't stand a chance!" Armadillomon stated. "Those brave little guys won't last long against that giant tin can." He took out the box that Gennai that given them and started pounding on it. "Come on, work!"

The box had allowed Agumon and Gabumon to Warp Digivolve, but it appeared that the box's power would only work once. No matter how much Armadillomon desperately pounded it, it did no good. The box wouldn't respond.

The Koromon kept blowing while Agumon and the others made their escape. ChaosGallantmon continued stepping forward until he reached the center of the village. He perched his mistress on his shoulder and raised his lance. The tip of the weapon began gathering a dark light—the weapon charging its power.

Hawkmon dove forward into a conveniently placed trench. "DUCK AND COVER!!"

Everyone followed suit. Agumon and the others covered their heads while ChaosGallantmon released an apocalyptic attack.

"Final Elysian!"

The lance unleashed its full power and the result was disastrous. The dark energy of the Final Elysian attack spread throughout the village. Every single Koromon caught in the blast was obliterated. Everything caught in the blast was vaporized. What was once a thriving, luscious Koromon Village had now been reduced to a wasteland. Agumon had never seen anything like it.

"He's destroyed everything!" Gabumon gasped.

Agumon was in disbelief. "What now?"

Armadillomon kept pounding the box into the ground. "Come on, you lousy box! Work already!"

Armadillomon got so frustrated that he tossed the box towards a rock. The box bounced off the rock and then clunked Agumon on the head. What happened next, however, was a sight to behold. The box began to react.

Unfortunately, it didn't create the effect any of them desired.

The box glowed a black light and shot out towards Agumon. The result was a transformation, but it wasn't a Warp Digivolution. It was a corruption. Where Agumon once stood, now stood a large, skeletal creature.

Armadillomon took a step back. "Uh oh!"

Gabumon confirmed it. "SkullGreymon!"

SkullGreymon didn't waste a second in wreaking havoc. He turned around in the blink of an eye, knocking the remaining three rookies away with a swipe of his bony tail. But before making another move, he saw ChaosGallantmon walking away over the horizon. SkullGreymon ran towards his new adversary, hoping to catch him.

Gabumon shook off the cobwebs and got to his feet. "Come on, guys! Get up! We have to catch him before something bad happens!"

Armadillomon and Hawkmon both got to their feet and followed Gabumon. All three rookies now found themselves giving chase to SkullGreymon.

* * *

For Gatomon, this night wasn't much fun. So far she had a litter box cracked over her head, been forced to eat old green soup, and had her tail fur dyed green. She wanted to kill Impmon for suggesting this game of "Truth or Dare".

Renamon chuckled. "Ok, cat. I believe you're up again. Truth or dare?"

Gatomon didn't want to risk another humiliating dare. She bit her lower lip. "Truth."

"I thought you'd never ask," Renamon smirked. "Ok, so I want the absolute truth. Gatomon…have you ever been jealous of me and my abilities?"

Gatomon tilted her head. "Huh?"

"Ever since you first met me, have you been jealous of me?"

Gatomon sighed. "You want the truth? No. I've never been jealous of you."

"Don't lie now," Renamon muttered. "The rule is you MUST tell the truth."

"I AM telling the truth. I was never jealous of you at any point. I've always been happy with myself and who I am. I don't know where you ever got the idea that I was ever jealous of you."

Renamon furrowed her brow. "Ok…sufficient. Who's next?"

"I believe you are," Gatomon answered. "Truth or Dare?"

Renamon thought about it. "Truth."

Gatomon grinned. "Hoped so." Her grin faded. "One question. Renamon…why did you throw me off that cliff all those years ago?"

Impmon chuckled. He got a mischievous grin on his face. Calumon's ears shrunk, knowing that the answer could lead to a violent eruption.

"I think it's time to end this game," Renamon said bitterly.

"Answer the question, Renamon!" Gatomon snapped. "Why'd you do it? Why have you always hated me from day one?"

Renamon was walking away, but Impmon grabbed her by the tail.

"Hold it, toots. You can't just end the game. That's against the rules. Answer the question."

Renamon picked Impmon up by the ears. "I can't believe you set this up."

"I wanna know this, too, Renamon," Calumon added, hoping his innocent voice would sway Renamon. "Why can't you two just get along? Why don't you like her?"

Renamon closed her eyes. All eyes were now on her. There was no escaping this question anymore. It was time for her to confront Gatomon and her past demons once and for all.

"You want to know why I don't like you?" Renamon began. "I will tell you. It goes back many years, long before I met Rika.

"I was a young Digimon—very naïve in my young age. I wasn't familiar with the workings of the Digital World, but I soon figured out that I needed to fight in order to survive. And then I made it a focus to become the mightiest Digimon in the Digital World. But to do that, I had to find the proper training. Eventually, I found the ones to train me. A group of fearsome Digimon—experienced warriors who knew how to battle.

"They took me under their wing and began training me. I learned much under their tutelage and they soon admired my courage and perseverance. They loved my desire and sincerity to learn. And with them, I found a home…and a family. Then you came along.

"When you arrived, everything changed. Everyone wanted to take care of the helpless Salamon that had come from who-knows-where. Once you Digivolved into what you are today, everything only got worse. You completely threw off our focus. You started going on about this lost child you were supposed to find and about how you didn't know your purpose in life. Soon enough, our training sessions stopped entirely. You had everybody wrapped up in your sob story.

"So that's why I did what I did. I took you and I tossed you off that cliff. I thought that once I got rid of you, everything would go back to the way it was. Everything would pick up as it was before you arrived. Unfortunately, that didn't prove to be the case. I was shunned by those I considered my allies and sent away to wander the Digital World on my own…just like you. I was left without a home…"

"And without a friend," Gatomon finished.

Renamon scoffed. "Well, if you know so much about this story, why don't you tell me what happens next?"

"You wander the world alone, not a friend in the world—wondering if anybody will ever accept you for who you are…and feeling lonely as the day you were born. You wonder if you'll ever feel happiness…and you confront you share of hardships, difficulties, confusion, and even false friends. But one day, you find a REAL friend…and then you feel a happiness that you've always wanted to feel. It's such an amazing feeling that you feel numb to it at first, but slowly you begin to feel it. And you start to wonder where you ever were without it."

Renamon hesitated. "That…was beautiful."

"It's my life," Gatomon retorted. "If you stopped to think about it, you'd see that we have a lot in common."

"And what made you see all this?" Renamon asked. "If I'm not mistaking, you haven't seen with those eyes since we arrived."

"Well, I'll admit I needed a little help," Gatomon sighed. "And that's why I have Calumon to thank. Calumon told me a lot about you and your friendship with him and Impmon."

"Hey, hey, hey!" Impmon snapped. "I don't want to hear no 'F' word, unless it 'fry' or 'fricassee'!"

Renamon turned to Calumon. "You told her my life story?"

"It's true, Renamon," Calumon explained. "You two DO have so much in common. Can't you two just be friends? You'd make great friends.

"I've had to watch you guys fight with each other everyday since we moved in. And these past few weeks things just got so much worse."

"We didn't fight these last few weeks," Renamon pointed out.

"Yeah, but you didn't talk to each other at all, either," Calumon shot back. "You two would act like the other didn't exist. This isn't any way to live! For the next few weeks, we're still going to be living together. And what happens next year when Rika and Kari decide to room together again? You know that's on their minds.

"And it just gets so much sadder to see when I realize that you two are so much alike. You could be best friends…but first you have to put the past behind you. Whatever happened between you two happened a long time ago. You two can be so forgiving. Can't you forgive each other and become friends?"

Renamon hesitated. "The little one makes a point. You always think with your heart, Calumon. Thank you." She turned to Gatomon. She slowly paced towards her…and extended her hand. "And as for you—I would be honored to call myself your friend."

Gatomon raised an eyebrow. "You mean it this time?"

"I honestly do. Consider the past forgotten."

Renamon and Gatomon exchanged a sincere handshake. Upon seeing this sign of friendship, Impmon nearly gagged. He got to his feet and headed towards the window.

"Alright, this is getting sickening. Come on, Calumon. Let's go up on the roof. Maybe we can rain some fireballs on a few humans."

"Ok."

Impmon and Calumon climbed out the window, leaving Gatomon and Renamon all alone.

"So…what now?" Gatomon asked awkwardly.

Renamon kept her usual calm demeanor. "Truth or Dare?"

Gatomon blinked. "Huh?"

"Truth or Dare?"

"Uh…truth…"

Renamon bent over to look Gatomon in the eye. "Is it true that Veemon STILL has a crush on you?"

Gatomon's eyes widened. "I should hope NOT! I thought he and I settled that years ago."

"That's not what I'm hearing."

"Really? What are you hearing?"

"Have a seat and I'll tell you."

And with Impmon and Calumon out, that opened the door for Gatomon and Renamon to do what many female friends did: gossip.

* * *

Tai ran a hand through his hair. Of course, with his unique hairstyle, Tai's hand virtually disappeared in the sea of hair. The meeting went on a mind-numbingly long time, but at least they were making some semblance of progress. Although when he looked at his sister, he saw a murderous look. Tai blew on a lock of hair. This was obviously the gratitude he got from trying to protect his baby sister.

"Ok, so now that everyone's shifts are all set, what's the next order of business?" Tai asked.

Kari stepped forward. "We talk about the other person who was attacked that night."

Ryo, who was casually munching on a sandwich, stopped all movement and swallowed. Everyone's attention was focused on him.

"Why was that Digimon chasing you, anyway?" Davis asked.

"He wanted you for a reason," Ken added.

Ryo thought about that. "Ebemon said something about something Cyberdramon and I did. But we don't have any clue what he's talking about."

Davis tried prying further. "What do you mean? What does he think you guys did?"

"He thinks we destroyed a base of operations or something."

Tai blinked. "Uh…anyone have any ideas on that one?"

Silence. Nothing could be heard except the barking of the animatronic dogs. Terriermon boldly raised his right ear.

"I have an idea!" he said brazenly. "How about we shut those dogs off?"

"I think it's catchy," Guilmon grinned. Soon enough, Guilmon added his voice to the barking dogs. Terriermon clamped the red lizard's lips shut with his left ear.

"I meant ideas on what Ebemon was babbling about," Tai muttered dryly.

"Oh! No clue there," Terriermon chuckled sheepishly.

"From the sound of this account, it appears that there's a base of operations somewhere in the Digital World," Izzy assumed. "Apparently, there are still pieces of this puzzle that we have yet to uncover."

"Any ideas how to uncover them, then?" Tai asked, getting more exasperated.

"Not a clue."

Tai pounded his head on the makeshift podium. He was obviously out of ideas and there was nothing more he'd be able to accomplish on this night. Face-down on the podium, Tai simply waved his hand.

"Meeting adjourned. Go to bed! All of you! Especially the freshmen, or I'll write you all up!"

With the meeting over and no reason to stick around, everyone started walking away. The only ones that stuck around were the older DigiDestined…and Davis. Davis walked up to his old idol.

"You ok, Tai? You look tense."

"Tense? Tense doesn't even begin to describe it," Tai sighed. He groaned loudly. "I'm too old for this!"

  


Next Time: With the school year winding down, Kari's suddenly finding it much more difficult to focus now that she has someone looking after her every second. Knowing he's made a major mistake, Davis tries to take a shift watching over Kari to make amends, but is it too late? With the revelation that Rosa is The Digimon Empress, Takato is simply relieved that it isn't Jeri. But the question remains: Where HAS Jeri been going all this time? Takato's determined to find out…even if it means hiring Detective Ken Ichijouji to find out for him. Izzy and Cody both head over to assist Henry in fixing Guardromon, but are interrupted by a distress call from the Digital World. The out-of-control SkullGreymon is still on a rampage and the remaining rookies will need help in rounding him up. Find out what happens on the next Digimon: The College Years!

  


Any comments? Then mail me at AmericanCaptor@hotmail.com and don't forget to review below!


	36. Shifting Gears

Last Week: The DigiDestined and the Tamers met in an effort to regroup after the events of the previous weekend. Tai questioned Cody in hopes of getting any information and discovered that Rosa hadn't been sighted at Odaiba High School in weeks. More than that, she's also been displaying enhanced abilities, which struck an ominous chord with Ken. The former Digimon Emperor concluded that Rosa's been infected with a Dark Spore. Knowing that things have taken an unpredictable turn, Tai has ordered that every DigiDestined and Tamer take a shift in watching over Kari. Later on, attention turned to Ryo, who had been a target of a Digimon attack and the DigiDestined and Tamers learned that there is a base somewhere in the Digital World. Back in the freshman dorms, Renamon and Gatomon finally cleared up their past and put it all behind them through a game of Truth or Dare. And in the Digital World, The Digimon Empress questioned Agumon and the other rookies regarding the attack on the Server base. When she didn't get any answers, ChaosGallantmon obliterated Koromon Village. After failing to activate Gennai's box, Armadillomon accidentally triggered a corruption—turning Agumon into the fearsome SkullGreymon. Now the rookies need to catch him before something else happens.

  


**Digimon: The College Years**

Episode 36- Shifting Gears

  


Sitting up in her dorm room, Kari tried to focus on her textbook. She knew she had to start studying soon. She had a big final coming up in the next few weeks that would cover everything from the semester. She needed to be ready and have nothing distracting her.

Unfortunately, thanks to her brother, that wasn't exactly in the cards.

Henry and Terriermon, who both had the next shift, were busy working on Guardromon. Henry didn't have it so easy, himself, since he was backed into quite a corner. He needed to have the android Digimon ready for the Robotics Fair in the next few weeks. And with Guardromon seemingly becoming more scatterbrained by the moment, it didn't look like that was about to happen.

Kari wouldn't have minded Henry so much if he could have only worked a little more quietly.

"OW!"

Henry leaped back when he was met with sparks coming from Guardromon's back. Terriermon smacked the android in the back of the head.

"This isn't working, is it?" Henry grumbled.

"You never know unless you test him," Terriermon pointed out. "Guardromon, say my name."

"My name."

Terriermon shook his head. "No, say MY name."

"MY name."

"Say 'Terriermon', you bucket of bolts!"

"Terriermon, you bucket of bolts."

Terriermon patted Henry on the back with his left ear. "Not quite ready for primetime, is he?"

"I don't know what else to do with him," Henry sighed. "I really wanted to see if I could fix him up on my own. But I guess we WILL need Izzy's help with this." He looked up and saw the disgruntled look on Kari's face. "Uh…is something wrong, Kari?"

Kari didn't want to snap or anything. She wasn't very good at expressing anger unless she was heavily provoked. Besides, she wasn't angry with Henry for distracting her. She was angry with Tai for arranging this ridiculous shift system. She needed privacy in order to study. She couldn't study with someone constantly looking after her.

But more than that, she was 18 years old. Yes, she was in danger and she was a target. But she could take care of herself. She was a grown woman, whether her brother realized that or not. She wasn't his defenseless little sister anymore. She hadn't been for a long time. She couldn't believe Tai was being so overprotective.

"I'm ok, Henry," Kari finally answered. "I'm just…thinking about a lot of stuff."

"The whole Rosa situation?" Henry guessed. "I don't blame you for being scared."

"I never said I was scared," Kari replied sharply. "In fact, I'm NOT scared! I can handle her, especially if I have Gatomon with me."

Kari pointed at her partner…and sweatdropped. Gatomon was asleep in the corner, along with Calumon. Renamon was likely also resting up, but in a more inconspicuous spot. Impmon was nowhere to be found, as he was probably hiding out on the roof trying to cause trouble again. But momentary laziness aside, Gatomon had always been there for Kari and she would never let anything bad happen to her.

"I don't know why Tai even set this system up," Kari huffed. "I can take care of myself!"

"Momentai," Terriermon cut in. "We believe you."

Henry checked his watch. "We're sure you can, Kari. That's why we won't stay a minute longer than we have to. Our shift is over. Let's go, Terriermon." He sighed. "You too, Guardromon."

"Let's see if you can do THAT right," Terriermon quipped.

Henry and Terriermon carefully directed Guardromon towards the door. Kari wanted to relish the few seconds she had by herself, because she knew she wouldn't be alone much longer. She read approximately one page in her textbook before the person with the next shift came in.

Unfortunately for Kari…

"Hi, Kari!"

…it was Davis with Veemon.

Kari turned her back on Davis. After that unforgettable night where her punch was spiked at Davis's frat party, she couldn't bear to look at him. To say their relationship was currently on the outs would be an understatement. There seemed to be no way to repair it.

But that didn't stop Davis from trying. "Aren't you at least going to say hi?"

Kari just stayed silent and didn't even bother looking his way. If she ignored him long enough, eventually he would have to go away.

* * *

Gabumon, Armadillomon, and Hawkmon struggled to catch up to SkullGreymon. The corrupted monster made great strides, covering great distances and practically leaving the rookies in the dust. But Gabumon knew he couldn't let him get away. SkullGreymon was a raging beast and if he got away, he could cause massive damage. He had to be stopped before that could happen.

"Hurry up, you guys!" Gabumon called out.

Armadillomon was practically panting. "He's…fast. Doesn't he ever slow down?"

"I believe his gas tank is perpetually full," Hawkmon thought.

Indeed there was no stopping SkullGreymon. He continued making greater strides and the rookies struggled to keep up. Keeping up this chase was hopeless. There was no way to catch the corrupted ultimate-level Digimon.

SkullGreymon continued his rampage by tearing through a nearby forest. Trees were falling like bowling pins as seemingly nothing could slow down the bony juggernaut. Gabumon narrowly avoided the falling trees while Hawkmon skillfully flew through the toppling lumber and plant life. Unfortunately, Armadillomon met up with an obstacle.

"AAAAHHH!!"

He fell down a hole.

Gabumon gave up the chase and ran towards the hole. Once Hawkmon became aware of the situation, he made sure to look at which way SkullGreymon was running before flying over to follow. The hole looked rather deep, but Gabumon didn't hesitate to jump in. Hawkmon flew in right behind him.

While it was easy for Hawkmon to simply fly in, Gabumon found himself sliding down a hole until he ended up landing in an underground grotto. Gabumon looked around for any sign of his friend, but the grotto was rather vast. There was no sign of his friend.

"Armadillomon!" Gabumon called out. "Where are you?"

"Hey guys!" Armadillomon shouted. "Over here! You won't believe what I found!"

Gabumon and Hawkmon wandered over to join their friend. Gabumon had found a lonely part of the grotto…with a television.

"That can't be what I think it is!" Hawkmon uttered in amazement.

"A link to the real world!" Armadillomon grinned. "Just what we need! And I know just who to call!"

Gabumon looked on as Armadillomon made a call to the real world. After everything they had been through thus far, it was finally time to call for backup.

* * *

Izzy checked his palm pilot as he walked through the Odaiba U campus, being careful not to drop Tentomon. "I'm lucky I was able to clear my schedule. I should have just enough time to examine Guardromon and still make it in time for my night class. You two are a big help. I'll definitely need a hand with this and I'm glad you were both available."

"Don't even stress it, Izzy," Yolei replied. "Besides, I've got nothing better to do in my dorm and maybe I can help you see what the problem is. And it has been a while since we've worked together."

"I'm just lucky there were conferences at the high school," Cody added. "From the sound of things, you'll need all the help you can get to uncross Guardromon's wires."

Izzy pocketed his palm pilot. "We'll likely have our work cut out for us. Henry's an intelligent guy and he takes after his father quite a bit. From what I hear, Henry's father is an expert programmer. But it looks like Henry might be in over his head on this one."

"I'll just keep my distance on this one," Tentomon muttered. "With what I'm hearing, Guardromon sounds like an oversized bug zapper."

Cody was about to add in another two cents, but he suddenly stopped when he began hearing his D-3 Digivice. It had been a long time since his Digivice reacted the way it was. He pulled it out and recognized the patterns—it was a distress call from the Digital World.

Izzy recognized those patterns as well. "A distress signal. Who's it from?"

Cody gasped. "It's from Armadillomon! And these are the coordinates he's left us!"

Yolei bit her lower lip. "A distress call from the Digital World? What do you think it is?"

Tentomon recognized the coordinates. "I don't know, but whatever it is, it's all the way in the continent of Server!"

Izzy had his laptop in his backpack and if he could find a phone line to connect it to, he could open a Digiport. And from the looks of this distress call, time appeared to be of the essence.

"Let's head over to one of the study rooms at the library. We can connect my laptop there."

Taking a whole new turn, Izzy led Yolei and Cody towards the Odaiba U library. As much as he hated to leave Henry hanging like this, this situation sounded urgent.

* * *

Takato dialed the number again. Again, he received no answer. It was starting to become a daily—almost hourly—routine. Takato would dial the number to Jeri's cell phone and would never receive any answer. It was frustrating.

For Takato, freshman year was quickly becoming a nightmare. The buzz for Goggle Man was still there and, occasionally, students would stop by and praise him for his work. But in creating a successful comic character, he may have lost a friend in Davis. And to make matters worse for him, he had no idea where to find his girlfriend. She could have been anywhere.

He sat on TK's bed and dialed the number again. Once again, he didn't get an answer. Takato breathed a disgruntled sigh.

TK, sitting at his desk, took his eye off his textbook. "No answer yet?"

"None. I don't know what to think, TK. I want to talk to her and ask her where she's been going, but I haven't seen her around at all."

Ken was calmly reading on his bed. He took his attention off his book and got into the conversation. "Have you tried going really late at night? She might be around if you go to her room at about three or four in the morning."

"I tried that. And after Rika stopped hitting me with her pillow, I found out she wasn't there. I don't understand this. Where would she go at these late hours? I mean…not coming back to her room until the early hours of the morning, disappearing without a trace, practically avoiding me at every turn, it's almost like…"

Takato stopped. He thought of the grim possibility and, frankly, such a thought frightened him. He didn't want to think about it, but there was a good chance it could be true.

"Guys…do you think Jeri's…cheating on me?"

"No way," TK scoffed. "I've seen you two together. She has it pretty bad for you."

"Yeah, I don't think she would cheat on you," Ken added. "You two have been together for so long."

"But that's just it. Maybe she's bored with me or something. Why else would she be disappearing without a trace and without explanation?"

TK and Ken shrugged. Takato turned his head to their partners over in the corner. Patamon and Wormmon also shrugged. The uncertainty was driving him crazy.

"I don't know what to do," Takato frowned. "I wish there was some way I could find out where she's going. Like…I don't know…someone to follow her or something."

"Like a detective?" Wormmon suddenly piped up.

Takato blinked. "Uh…something like that."

"I'm sure Ken could help you," Wormmon said. "He's learning to be the best detective there is and this sounds like a great case for him."

"It does?" Ken asked skeptically.

"Think about it, Ken," Wormmon explained. "This is the biggest mystery we've encountered since the day something haunted the Den. There's been absolutely no sign of Jeri and you may be the only one who can find her."

Ken thought about it briefly before a smile appeared on his face. "Only if my sidekick joins me."

Wormmon reached over behind him and put on his detective's hat. "Sounds like an adventure!"

"What do you say, Takato?" Ken asked. "Just say the word and Wormmon and I can go looking for her."

"You guys would do that for me?"

"Of course! Give us a few days and we'll find out exactly where Jeri's been going."

It was a load off Takato's mind. He had become so worried about where Jeri was going, but now he had someone on the job. Ken and Wormmon would find out the truth.

Takato breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks, guys."

Ken went into his closet and took out his brown cloak and detective's hat and put them on. In a flash, he also grabbed a magnifying glass with his right hand and a pipe with his left.

"We'll start right away! Let's go, Wormmon!"

Wormmon crawled over and climbed on Ken's shoulder. "Ok, detective."

Ken and Wormmon dashed out the door dramatically. Takato blinked while TK just witnessed the whole scene and sweatdropped.

"We've got to be the weirdest set of college roommates on the planet."

As if on cue, another certain pair of roommates could be heard bickering outside.

"What do you mean Guardromon still isn't working right?"

"I think Henry said something about circuits, wires, and chocolate pudding."

"Oh boy. Let's get over there…now!"

TK heard that exchange and his sweatdrop got bigger. "I stand corrected."

* * *

Gabumon waited patiently as Hawkmon flew Armadillomon back up the hole and onto the surface. They couldn't waste any more time in the hole since SkullGreymon could be anywhere at this point. The chase needed to continue.

Though Gabumon realized the urgency of the situation, it appeared his two friends did not. They had returned to the surface, but Gabumon was still in the grotto waiting for someone to come back for him. So far, no one had returned.

"Hey, where are you guys?"

As soon as he called out, someone did go back down for him. But it wasn't exactly who Gabumon expected. A large bug came swooping down from above. Gabumon recognized him as Kabuterimon, Tentomon's champion form. Before Gabumon could even react, the big bug grabbed hold of him and brought him back to the surface, setting him down gently on the grass.

When Gabumon looked around, he saw Hawkmon and Armadillomon, but he also noticed that reinforcements had arrived—Izzy, Cody, Yolei, and Kabuterimon were here. It didn't take long for Cody and his partner, Armadillomon, to start getting reacquainted—ditto for Yolei and her partner, Hawkmon.

"Great to see you again, Cody," Armadillomon grinned.

"We came as soon as we heard," Cody said. "We got your message."

"You couldn't have come a moment sooner, Yolei," Hawkmon sighed in relief.

"What's the trouble?" Yolei asked.

"It's Agumon," Gabumon explained. "He turned into SkullGreymon and right now we don't know where he is."

"SkullGreymon?" Izzy repeated. "How did that happen?"

"It happened after I dented this little thingamabob box that Gennai gave us," Armadillomon answered.

Izzy's eyes widened. "Gennai? You guys talked to Gennai? When did you guys talk to Gennai?"

It was then that Gabumon realized that the DigiDestined weren't aware of Gennai recruiting them for that little mission. It was time to tell their story.

Gabumon elbowed Hawkmon gently in the ribs. "You want to tell them or should I?"

* * *

The thick gray fog filled the night's sky outside the freshman dorm building. After a few long hours of waiting, Ken was getting sleepy. Wormmon had already collapsed under the pressure and fell asleep on Ken's shoulder. Detective work wasn't easy and there were times when it would undoubtedly get this tedious. Ken was wondering if he should call it a night.

But suddenly, something finally happened. The front door opened and a young woman walked out in a thick green coat and a small yellow skirt. She wore the coat's hood over her head, but her face was unmistakable.

It was Jeri.

Ken shook his partner gently. "Wormmon…wake up."

Wormmon mumbled softly. "Detective Ken Ichijouji and Wormmon…the finest detective team in both worlds…"

"Wake up!" Ken whispered sharply, nudging his partner.

Wormmon quickly woke up. "Huh? What's going on?"

"Look who finally came out."

Jeri calmly started walking out, completely unaware that she was being watched. Ken could have alerted Takato, but that wasn't what he was hired for. Ken was hired to find out where exactly Jeri was going. And that meant he and Wormmon would have to keep a close surveillance on her.

The important thing about keeping a close surveillance on anyone was not making it conspicuous. So for the time being, Ken maintained his position. He waited until Jeri was at a safe distance, but was still within sight of his handy binoculars. Once Jeri was at the right spot, Ken quietly crept out of the bush and started moving forward.

Jeri started walking off-campus—which looked to be a dangerous activity at this hour. It was almost dawn. But Ken kept walking and occasionally hiding by a tree or a bush. He soon began to recognize the direction in which Jeri was going. She was walking towards downtown Odaiba.

Soon enough, Jeri reached downtown Odaiba—a dangerous place to be at this hour. She walked through the streets without any semblance of fear, which Ken could admire. But he couldn't figure out where she was going.

"It doesn't look to me like she's heading to another man's house, Ken," Wormmon mused.

"I think you're right," Ken whispered back. "But then where IS she going?"

It wasn't until a few minutes later that Jeri answered his question by walking towards the local Internet café, which was still open. Jeri walked in and walked towards one of the computers in the very back, towards an isolated corner.

Ken scooted towards her with his head ducked down. He stopped at the row next to Jeri's computer and made sure she couldn't spot him. Ken raised his head just enough to see that Jeri pull out a Digivice…but the Digivice looked very familiar. One thing was for certain—it wasn't her own. Ken recognized who it belonged to.

"That's Kari's," he whispered in shock.

"Digiport open!" Jeri called out.

A Digiport opened on the computer screen and Jeri didn't waste any time in going in. With the coast clear, Ken moved in. This wasn't what he expected to see at all. Jeri had gone into the Digital World using Kari's Digivice. He wondered why, but then he remembered that a Tamer's D-Arc Digivice couldn't open a Digiport the way a D-3 could.

But the question remained—why would Jeri go into the Digital World and keep it a secret from everybody? There was only one way to find out.

Ken walked up to the same computer that Jeri was on. He pulled out his own D-3. With the coordinates still fresh on the screen, Ken prepared to follow.

"Digiport open!"

The Digiport opened once more and Ken and Wormmon went straight in. There was more to this story and Ken was about to uncover the rest of the puzzle.

* * *

After the events of the past few months, Tai had never felt older in his life. The strain was far too much for him. He couldn't take much more stress. He had been fighting battles to save the world for so many years and it had taken its toll on him. And to make matters worse, instead of just being allowed to live a normal life, evil was not only making its way back into Tai's life, but it was also after his little sister. He needed to relax.

Luckily, he had Matt around. The occasional well-timed punch in the face was usually enough to bring Tai to his senses, but there was no telling how much longer it would help. He needed a better solution.

As he walked down the hall, he dumped all his troubles on Matt once again. "I just wish there was something else I could do. I feel like every time I try to get out of being a hero, something always pulls me back in. I can't handle this anymore, Matt. I'm too old for this! This is a young man's game. Not for someone…whose hair color is wearing out." Tai ran a hand through his hair and ended up with Just For Men all over his fingers. "I need…I need…therapy!"

Matt casually shrugged and calmly punched Tai in the face, knocking him over.

Tai got to his feet. "Not PHYSICAL therapy! I need some OTHER form of therapy. A good punch in the face can only do so much."

Matt shrugged again. "Always makes ME feel better."

The guys didn't notice that Sora and Mimi were walking up behind them. Sora got a hold of Tai's wrist and saw the running hair coloring dripping through his fingers.

"Tai, are you STILL on this aging kick?"

"It's not a kick—it's truth! I've never felt older and…frankly, I'm in need of therapy." Tai flinched when he saw Matt rearing back with his fist. "MATT!"

Mimi sighed. "Tai, where do you think you're going to get therapy? Especially with finals right around the corner?"

"Which we should be studying for, by the way," Sora added.

"Maybe I can help."

Tai nearly jumped when he heard someone behind him. It wasn't pleasant to have someone sneaking up from behind. But when he turned around, he saw the non-threatening face of Ms. Mackenzie.

"You can help?" Sora asked.

"If there's one thing I can assist with, it's relieving stress through therapy," Ms. Mackenzie explained. "Tai, if you're in need of relaxation and stress relief, I'd be more than happy to help you. I can schedule you for a therapy session."

"What kind of therapy?" Tai asked skeptically, with Matt's fist still fresh in his mind.

"Spiritual therapy. By clearing your mind of all anxieties through meditation, you can quickly discover inner peace and relieve yourself of all forms of stress."

Tai thought about it. "Sounds great! When do you want us there?"

"Wait a minute!" Matt cut in. "Who's 'us'?"

"The four of us. You guys could really use this, too."

"Says who?"

Sora took Matt's hand. "Maybe some therapy WOULD do us good."

"You're into that whole hokey meditation stuff?" Matt scoffed.

"It wouldn't kill you to try," Sora said through clenched teeth. "You can't knock it unless you've tried it."

"I can and I will."

"Well let me put it to you this way!" Sora huffed. She grabbed Matt by the ear. "You're going to do this with us whether you like it or not, because you're my boyfriend and you and I should do more things like this together, right?"

"OW! Ok, ok! Let go!"

Sora released her grip on Matt's ear. As Matt held his ear, Tai made a whip-cracking gesture, earning him a cold glare from his best friend.

Ms. Mackenzie sweatdropped. "I can see we have a lot of tension to work out. Should we meet tomorrow?"

Tai nodded. The sooner he got this meditation out of the way, the sooner he could leave all his anxieties behind him.

* * *

Izzy's head nearly spun after the story that the rookie-level Digimon had told him, Yolei, and Cody. He never expected to hear that Gennai had recruited them to uncover the irregularities plaguing the Digital World that would eventually reveal Rosa as The Digimon Empress. Izzy had to give the rookies a lot of credit. They were very brave for going through with such a daunting task, especially without the aid of their human partners.

But now things had taken a turn for the worse with the revelation of SkullGreymon's reemergence. He had to be found before he caused any more damage.

"As if the Koromon Village's destruction wasn't enough," Gabumon said grimly. "Now we have SkullGreymon on the loose and there's no telling where he is."

"I wish there was some way we could contact Gennai," Izzy muttered. "His assistance is greatly needed. And he can also answer a lot of questions we all have."

After a half-hour of walking, the party was moving out of the forest and into Server's vast desert. The Server desert was a virtual wasteland with hardly any semblance of life. It didn't appear that SkullGreymon had passed through, but nobody got a chance to investigate any further.

Before anyone could react, a blast came hurling their way and narrowly missed everyone. Izzy ducked and had a face full of sand. When he raised his head and turned around, he saw someone coming up from behind.

It was Rosa—and she was riding atop a darker version of the Mega that Takato and Guilmon had fused into.

Yolei's eyes widened when she saw the giant Digimon. "Not that big guy again!"

"It's ChaosGallantmon!" Hawkmon shouted. "He's found us!"

"Time to finish what we started," The Digimon Empress glowered. She shifted her eyes when she saw who was present—and who was missing. "Plus two humans, but minus one rookie. Where's your little friend? On an espionage mission, no doubt?"

"He's not here!" Gabumon cried. "We don't know what you're talking about!"

"Rosa, stop this!" Cody shouted. "What's wrong with you? Since when did you become the kind of person to hurt innocent Digimon and attempt kidnappings?"

The Digimon Empress removed her glasses, revealing Rosa's face. "I don't have to answer that, burro! I don't have to tell you ANYTHING! I'm The Digimon Empress!"

Cody tried reasoning with her. "It's the Dark Spore! It's turned you into someone you're not! You've got to think about what you're doing. You've loved Digimon as much as the rest of us. Why would you do this? What made you become this way?"

Rosa closed her eyes and breathed deeply. "What has my love for Digimon gotten me? They weren't there to comfort me after the losses I've experienced. And now they will all feel my pain once I help unleash the ultimate darkness!"

"I don't know what pain you've gone through, but this isn't going to make it better!" Cody shot back. "What do you think Ken would say if he saw you now?!"

"SHUT UP!" Rosa shouted. Ken's name struck a nerve with her. She climbed down from ChaosGallantmon's shoulder and moved forward. "I offered him all my love and what did I get from him in return? I was rejected…" Then she spotted Yolei. "…rejected…because of YOU!"

"You know, Ken may have been too nice to say this you, but I've been waiting to tell you this to your face," Yolei began. "All you've done since you showed up is try and get between us, but I've got news for you! Ken doesn't like you! He never has! He and I have been together for years and nothing you can say to him will make him forget that! So why don't you just give it up already?"

Rosa put her glasses back on and sneered coldly. "ChaosGallantmon, exterminate them all! But make sure she's the first to go!"

Armadillomon stepped forward. "We ain't going quietly this time. No more running, right, Cody?"

Cody reached for his Digivice. "No way! We're going to stay and fight! DigiArmor energize!"

****Armadillomon…Armor Digivolve to…Digmon, the Drill of Knowledge!!****

Yolei took her own Digivice out. "Ready, partner? DigiArmor energize!"

****Hawkmon…Armor Digivolve to…Shurimon, the Samurai of Sincerity!!****

Izzy took his Digivice out to complete the trifecta. "We'll need more firepower if we're going to compete with this bruiser, Kabuterimon."

****Kabuterimon…Digivolve to…MegaKabuterimon!!****

ChaosGallantmon was not intimidated by the sudden emergence of two Armor Digimon and an ultimate-level opponent. He stomped forward and pulled out his lance and shield.

"So how should we go about subduing him?" Shurimon asked.

Digmon looked over at MegaKabuterimon. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

MegaKabuterimon nodded. "DOGPILE!"

The three Digimon rushed forward and knocked ChaosGallantmon over in an unorthodox maneuver. They all started piling on top of him with MegaKabuterimon on the bottom, followed by Digmon and Shurimon. Of course, such tactics didn't work, as ChaosGallantmon easily shrugged them all off. The three Digimon quickly regrouped.

"Ok, that wasn't such a good idea," MegaKabuterimon noted.

"Let's just try rounding him up!" Digmon suggested. "He doesn't look so tough!" He charged forward, despite the protests of his friends, and attacked. "Gold Rush!"

The barrage of Digmon's Gold Rush attack didn't make a dent in ChaosGallantmon's armor. The dark knight reached over and grabbed the drill of Digmon's nose.

Rosa chuckled. "Got your nose."

ChaosGallantmon had an iron grip on Digmon's nose. He lifted him up and started twirling him around over his head before tossing him right at MegaKabuterimon and Shurimon, knocking them both over.

"I think that's what's known as a strike," Shurimon grumbled.

MegaKabuterimon got to his feet and picked up a lone boulder that was positioned beside them. "If he wants to bowl, let's see what I can score."

The big bug tossed the boulder forward, rolling it towards ChaosGallantmon. It didn't get very far, because the big knight sliced it in half with his lance. The weapon cut the rock like a hot knife through butter.

"Talk about a split," MegaKabuterimon groaned. "Ok, we're going to have to try taking him all at once. Get ready! Horn Buster!"

"Double Stars!"

"Gold Rush!"

ChaosGallantmon calmly stood there as the attacks came his way. He reacted with frighteningly quick reflexes. He deflected MegaKabuterimon's attack with his shield while knocking away each projectile attack of Digmon and Shurimon's with his lance. The three Digimon hadn't landed a single blow.

With the attacks no longer a threat, the rogue knight took the offensive. He tossed his shield at MegaKabuterimon, hitting the big bug right in the chest and knocking him down. He then charged forward with Digmon and Shurimon each grabbing a hold of each arm in hopes of subduing the brute. He reacted by casually swinging his arms forward so that the two Digimon collided.

ChaosGallantmon picked up his shield and pointed his lance, preparing to end the battle as quickly as it started. It took Rosa to stop him.

"Stop!"

The hulking Mega turned his head, awaiting his orders like the obedient, destructive servant that he was.

"I thought I told you…Yolei would be the first to go. She's right over there!"

ChaosGallantmon then set his sights to the three DigiDestined and Gabumon. Knowing they were the next target, everyone began to scatter, but the one ChaosGallantmon had his eye on was Yolei. He began chasing her around, but she wouldn't be able to outrun him much longer.

Luckily, Gabumon had managed to stick with her. "Keep running! I'll stall him!"

"Don't even think about it! That's suicide!"

"Keep running! I'll hold him off!"

Yolei hesitated, but she kept going while Gabumon tried to create a diversion.

"Blue Blaster!"

Needless to say, the rookie's attack didn't have any effect, but it did get ChaosGallantmon's attention. He now focused on Gabumon. Izzy realized that the rookie didn't stand a chance unless he got help, but the other three Digimon looked to be down and out. But that's when the most unlikely savior came to his rescue.

SkullGreymon came rushing in out of nowhere and shoulder-tackled ChaosGallantmon, sending him tumbling him over.

Gabumon looked surprised. "You saved me! OOF!"

Unfortunately, as he was passing through, SkullGreymon kicked Gabumon out of the way. The corrupted ultimate moved towards ChaosGallantmon, ignoring anything else.

Shurimon looked up. "Looks like he's just looking for a fight."

SkullGreymon aimed for the fallen knight, who was barely getting to his feet. "Dark Shot!"

ChaosGallantmon reacted quickly, holding up his shield. The projectiles hit the shield, protecting him from the impact. When the smoke cleared, SkullGreymon was already grappling with ChaosGallantmon. They were testing each other's strength, but the rogue knight got the better of the contest and tossed his opponent aside.

He then launched an attack. "Dark Saber!"

ChaosGallantmon's attack hit dead-on, sending SkullGreymon tumbling back and reverting back to Agumon. Agumon was knocked unconscious.

"Well, he did our job for us," Shurimon pointed out.

"Yeah, but if we don't do something, Agumon's toast!" Digmon noted.

Izzy agreed with that assertion. Agumon was a sitting duck. Digmon and Shurimon rushed to his aid, but ChaosGallantmon calmly fought them off with his shield and tossed them aside. He tossed his shield like a discus, hitting them both and sending them reverting to their rookie forms. The situation looked hopeless. But that's when Izzy's palm pilot started going off.

"Izzy?"

Izzy picked up his palm pilot upon recognizing the voice. "Gennai?!"

"Looks like I came in right in the middle of all the excitement. Azulongmon sends his love…and THIS!"

A yellow light came out of the palm pilot and zapped MegaKabuterimon. Not only was the Digimon reinvigorated, but he also got an extra boost.

****MegaKabuterimon…Mega Digivolve to…HerculesKabuterimon!!****

Izzy's jaw dropped upon seeing his partner reach Mega. "Prodigious!"

Izzy's partner grew in a tremendous way. He was now covered with bony plates that acted as armor. He had two sets of wings, one made of bone plates on his upper back and conventional bug wings on his lower back. He had four long, bony arms with sharp claws and a giant scissors-shaped horn on his head.

"I am HerculesKabuterimon! My giant horn crushes my enemies and if they think they can escape, well…I've got news for them. I can reach speeds that are faster than the speed of sound, so there's no escaping my Mega Electro Shocker and Giga Scissors Claw attacks."

ChaosGallantmon completely ignored the introduction and tossed his spear right at Agumon. However, displaying his amazing speed, HerculesKabuterimon immediately zoomed in and intercepted it, catching it in one of his claws.

"I think this belongs to you."

The big bug tossed the lance back. ChaosGallantmon didn't take too kindly to that. He grabbed one of the fragments of the boulder he had cut up and tossed it at HerculesKabuterimon. The Mega simply caught it with the horn on his head and crushed it into pieces with it. Then he attacked.

"Mega Electro Shocker!"

The electrifying attack shot out from HerculesKabuterimon's horn and headed straight for ChaosGallantmon. The rogue knight attempted to deflect the shot with his shield, but it wasn't enough. The attack was so powerful that it engulfed ChaosGallantmon, sending him falling to one knee. He reached over behind him…and found his cape had been singed.

ChaosGallantmon rose to his feet, growling loudly. He obviously didn't like that his cape was soiled. He thrust it back and aimed his lance.

"Dark Saber!"

ChaosGallantmon attacked, but HerculesKabuterimon quickly moved out of the way. The dark knight gave chase, but every time he swung with his saber, the Mega bug moved out of the way. Finally, as ChaosGallantmon reached in again, HerculesKabuterimon simply picked him up and threw him at least 15 feet, amazing everyone present.

That included Rosa, who grew furious. "Enough! ChaosGallantmon, stop playing games and kill them all!"

ChaosGallantmon walked over to Rosa and placed her on his shoulder. He then growled furiously and raised his shield over his head.

"That…can't be good, can it?" HerculesKabuterimon mused.

Izzy gulped. ChaosGallantmon looked to be ready for an attack of apocalyptic proportions. And there looked to be no escape from it.

* * *

Things were apparently worse than first thought. Davis couldn't stand the sounds of silence and yet that's exactly what greeted him. Kari couldn't have given him a colder reception if she had thrown him in a freezer. He wanted to talk things out, but she clearly didn't seem interested. Of course, with everything that went down on that fateful Saturday night, he could hardly blame her.

Davis decided to be subtle. "How's your studying going?"

Silence. Kari didn't even react, pretending as if he didn't exist.

"You can't just give me the silent treatment the whole time."

"Watch me," Kari shot back.

Davis knew this wasn't going well. He searched in his pocket for some change, hoping to get something out the vending machine.

"I'm a little thirsty. Kari, you want me to bring you a…"

Davis gulped when Kari shot him a deadly look. He had messed up, since it was a drink that created this whole mess.

"You don't get it, do you?" Kari growled.

"I get it," Davis replied. "And I'm sorry. I should have been a little less…naïve. You know if I had it to do over again, I wouldn't have let that happen. And I even quit the frat because of it. I never wanted anything like that to happen to you, Kari."

"I'm just upset it happened in the first place. It shouldn't have happened at all. And did you even think of what could have happened? What if my brother found out? What if I had gotten caught by someone? And worse, what if I really HAD been abducted that night?"

These were all valid arguments. There was no way Davis could argue with these scenarios. There was only one counter he had for that.

"But none of that happened. You're ok now. Can we just forget all that ever happened?"

Kari shook her head. "I can't forget something like that, Davis. I never should have been in that position. I used to feel safe around you, but now I don't know what to think anymore. I…I don't know if I can trust you."

As soon as those words were said, Kari got this blank look on her face. Davis hadn't seen that empty expression in Kari's eyes in a long time. He didn't know why she suddenly looked like that. She just got to her feet and started pushing Davis towards the door.

"I need to be alone. Please leave."

"Hey…but my shift's not over yet!"

"Davis, just go!"

Kari opened the door and shoved Davis out. Obviously, she couldn't bear to see him, which completely left Davis deflated. He was hoping to fix everything, but instead, it appeared that things only got worse.

Davis didn't know what else he could do.

* * *

After stumbling through the Digiport, Ken found himself at a proverbial dead end. He had lost all sign of Jeri and was ready to give up, but that's when Wormmon reminded him that she had Kari's Digivice. And since the D-3's were linked, Ken could track Kari's and find Jeri.

So for the past hour, that's exactly what he did. He found himself walking along a calm, serene river. Ken was surrounded by a luscious jungle. He couldn't understand what could possibly bring Jeri out here.

Suddenly, Ken saw someone out in the distance. It was just who he was searching for—It was Jeri. And she was walking towards a lonely cave.

Jeri pulled out a Digivice, but this one was her own D-Arc. She looked at it momentarily and then headed towards the dark cave. Detective work was hardly ever pretty, so Ken followed into the darkness in hopes of finding some sort of answer to this whole mystery.

Peering at her Digivice, Jeri called into the cave. "You're in there, aren't you? I was told you'd be here."

Ken didn't know who she was referring to. But he soon found out when someone came out of the shadows. When he saw who it was, Ken gasped.

It was Leomon.

  


Next Time: Ken gets to the bottom of the mystery once and for all and stands witness to Jeri's meeting with Leomon. But is this the same Leomon from her past? Can Izzy, Cody, Yolei and the others escape from what's sure to be a deadly ChaosGallantmon rampage? With all the stress on Tai's mind, Ms. Mackenzie offers a round of meditation…in Sora and Mimi's room. Can Matt sit through a round of "hokey meditation stuff"? And can Biyomon and Palmon stay quiet? With Kari ready to throttle her brother over the shift system, how will TK's shift go? And with Henry apparently on his own and ready to give up, Terriermon is ready to step in and fix Guardromon himself…through more unorthodox methods. @_@

  


Any comments? Then mail me at AmericanCaptor@hotmail.com and don't forget to review below!


	37. Shock Therapy

Last Time: SkullGreymon ran rampant through the Digital World with Gabumon, Armadillomon, and Hawkmon all giving chase. They eventually stumbled onto a television where they were able to contact Izzy, Yolei, and Cody. Once they arrived in the Digital World, they were confronted by Rosa and ChaosGallantmon where a huge battle took place. A sudden connection with Gennai soon resulted in Tentomon reaching the Mega stage for the first time. But just as HerculesKabuterimon started to get the best of the battle, ChaosGallantmon prepared himself to destroy EVERYTHING! Meanwhile, back in the real world, Takato still isn't sure where Jeri's been going. But luckily, there happened to be a detective in the vicinity. Ken and Wormmon took the task of finding Jeri and were surprised by their findings. Jeri was in the Digital World…and ran into Leomon! Davis's attempts to get back in Kari's good graces were ultimately unsuccessful and it's anybody's guess where things will go from here. And Guardromon is still malfunctioning…but somebody's ready to take matters into his own hands.

  


**Digimon: The College Years**

Episode 37- Shock Therapy

  


Henry's stomach growled once more. He hadn't had a bite to eat the entire day. He hadn't had a chance to get out of the robotics lab and was starting to think he should begin packing a sleeping bag. He couldn't believe that Kazu and Kenta had gotten him into this.

The Robotics Fair was approaching quickly. Time was running short. At this point, Henry was ready to stick his head in a circuit breaker. Everything he had tried had resulted in failure. There was seemingly no way to uncross the android Digimon's wires. It was just an exercise in futility and Henry was ready to call it quits.

"I can't take it anymore, Terriermon," Henry sighed, dropping his wrench. "It's just hopeless. I've spent days trying to fix Guardromon and I don't think I've made any progress at all."

"That's kind of a harsh thing to say," Terriermon replied. "I think you've made at least SOME progress. I'll prove it to you." The long-eared Digimon placed a Tootsie pop, of all things, in front of Guardromon. "Mr. Guardromon, how many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie pop?"

"Let's find out," Guardromon responded. He then proceeded to smash it to pieces with his burly hand. "Zero."

Terriermon sweatdropped. "That's not what I had in mind. And you wasted a perfectly good Tootsie pop, you robotic dunce!"

"I give up," Henry sighed. "I need some lunch. Terriermon, you coming?"

Terriermon politely declined by making a negative motion with his left ear. "No, that's fine. I'll just…try and work on Guardromon myself."

Henry shrugged. "Suit yourself. I'll bring you back a sandwich."

Henry walked out of the science lab, nearly crashing into the door. His focus was really off at this point. He kept thinking about how he was going to get Guardromon in functioning order.

Of course, the rest of his brain was thinking about how he would get back at Kazu and Kenta for putting him in this situation to begin with.

* * *

As soon as Henry was gone, Terriermon walked towards the pay phone at the end of the robotics lab. Using a coin he had found on the ground, Terriermon inserted the coin with his left ear and dialed with his right. He heard one tone, followed by a second.

"Come on, pick up."

_"Hello? You've reached TK, Ken, and Davish. They aren't in right now, so leave your name…"_

"Veemon, cut the answering machine act. It's me."

_"Oh, hey Terriermon. What's up?"_

"I'm about ready to take drastic measures with our android friend over here. Bring Patamon to the robotics lab. We've got a lot of work to do."

Terriermon hung up and looked over at Guardromon. He rubbed his ears together in anticipation. He had a plan. And he would make sure Guardromon was in functional order if it was the last thing he did.

* * *

The scene was tense. Everybody stood in place, including Izzy, helplessly watching as ChaosGallantmon furiously charged up his shield — preparing for his next attack. The Digimon Empress, who was sitting on his shoulder, was looking on pleased. After taking a tremendous beating, Agumon lay prone on the ground, not remembering anything from the previous battle in which he fought as SkullGreymon. Like everyone else, Izzy knew what was coming. An attack of apocalyptic proportions was on its way and it appeared as if none of the DigiDestined would be spared.

But unlike the others, HerculesKabuterimon wasn't about to simply stand around. "Hey! This is no time to be standing around like statues! We've got to get out of here!"

"You can't escape!" Rosa shouted. "You'll never make it out of the blast range in time!"

That's when something interrupted the proceedings. A blast came out of nowhere and struck the ground a few inches in front of ChaosGallantmon. It was as if it came out of thin air. The evil one, clearly distracted by the unexpected blast, stopped charging his shield and started looking around, wielding his lance fiercely. He wanted to know what hit him and Rosa looked at the first suspects — the DigiDestined and their Digimon.

"Who did that?!" she demanded.

Gabumon shrugged. "You're looking at US?"

Meanwhile, another blast came — this time from behind ChaosGallantmon. Whoever this assailant was, he or she worked fast. ChaosGallantmon started stepping in circles, trying to anticipate the next attack. This gave the DigiDestined the opening they needed.

"I think that's our cue to exit," HerculesKabuterimon noted.

With lightning speed, the Mega form of Tentomon grabbed each DigiDestined and Digimon, including the unconscious Agumon, and carried them away to safety, leaving Rosa and ChaosGallantmon in the dust. Izzy could hardly believe it, but they had all traveled miles in the span of seconds.

"Amazing! We must have been traveling at the speed of sound! That's quite a feat for a Digimon of your size."

"That's nothing! You should see how quickly I move at a pie-eating contest."

Cody kicked the sand in front of him. "We accomplished nothing. ChaosGallantmon is still out there and we still don't know what Rosa wants with Kari."

"Something isn't adding up," Izzy mused. "While the Dark Spore can bring out the worst in a person, there's no logical explanation why it would make Rosa seemingly single out Kari. There's a piece of the puzzle that's missing."

"I've already tried talking to Ken about this," Yolei added. "He doesn't know what to make of this either. There shouldn't be any reason why Rosa's targeting Kari more than anybody else."

Suddenly, Agumon started to come to. "What happened?"

Armadillomon chuckled sheepishly. "Let's just say we used up all the juice from the box."

"We're all safe now," Hawkmon added. "Thankfully, reinforcements arrived in a timely manner."

Izzy checked his watch. "I believe it's time for us to head back home. We've spent more time here in the Digital World than I originally anticipated we would."

"What should we do, Izzy?" Gabumon asked.

Izzy thought about that. Gabumon and the others were practically fugitives and there was no telling when Rosa and ChaosGallantmon would pop up. It wasn't safe to just leave them around. On the other hand, the Digital World was also in danger and the Digimon were far from a position to defend themselves against this menace.

"We can't just leave them here, can we?" Yolei asked, reaffirming Izzy's fears.

"It wouldn't be the safest measure, that's for sure," Izzy sighed.

The innocent Digimon of the Digital World were all targets for the wrath of ChaosGallantmon and would remain that way for as long as there was a mysterious Digimon out there aiding the cause of the DigiDestined and the Tamers. That's how things always were.

_"Izzy?"_

That voice came from Izzy's laptop. Without hesitation, Izzy opened the laptop and there on the screen was Gennai.

"Are we glad to see you," Izzy smiled.

Gennai first turned his attention to Agumon, Gabumon, Hawkmon, and Armadillomon. _"You four did a great job! While we don't know the motives behind Rosa's actions, you were the first to discover The Digimon Empress as the driving force behind the Black Gears. Unfortunately, there are more questions that need answers…including the REAL force behind all this."_

"What do you mean 'the REAL force'?" Yolei asked.

_"I've been conferencing with the four Digimon Sovereigns about this entire situation. The effects of the Dark Spores have been well-documented, but some of the motives behind Rosa's actions simply don't add up…leading us all to believe that there's someone else behind The Digimon Empress."_

"Who?" Izzy asked.

_"We have our suspicions, but nothing's confirmed yet. The answers will come soon, but we have to keep our guard up. And most importantly, expect the unexpected."_

"Gennai, someone helped us escape from Rosa earlier," Cody cut in. "Do you know who or what it could have been?"

_"Hmm…I'm not sure I have an answer for you, Cody. But if there is an ally out there, we could sure use it right about now. Because I have a feeling that things are about to pick up very soon…if they haven't already."_

"It's a good thing we have somebody watching Kari right now," Yolei pointed out.

Izzy, though, wasn't convinced. "Somehow…I wonder if surveillance will be enough."

_"There's nothing more we can do now,"_ Gennai continued. _"You guys have studying to do, so you'd better get back to the real world. But in the interests of security, we'll need you to take the Digimon with you."_

"We've got enough Digimon up there as it is!" Yolei whined. "We can't possibly take anymore around campus. What if someone gets suspicious?"

_"You guys are great at improvising under such pressure. I'm sure you'll all think of some creative way to handle this. Good luck."_

"Gennai, wait!"

The feed died and Yolei kicked the dirt on the ground. Odaiba University was already crawling with undercover Digimon. With more set to take up space, things had the potential to become disastrous.

"I don't believe this!" Yolei huffed. "It almost makes me want to go back to class!"

"Don't you have a final coming up?" Cody pointed out.

Yolei sweatdropped. "Oh yeah! Uh…on the other hand, bring on ChaosGallantmon!"

"Balancing school and saving two worlds isn't getting easier," Izzy sighed. "I wonder how things will go with some extra babysitting on top of it?"

* * *

Ken couldn't believe what he was witnessing. He finally found out where Jeri was going, but he never expected her to go out into the Digital World with Kari's Digivice. And he never expected to see her looking for Leomon. Ken remembered the last time he had seen Leomon. It was when Etemon made his unwanted appearance back during Odaiba High School's prom. He couldn't understand what would make Jeri seek him out, but he had a feeling that he would find out by listening in from his hiding place behind one of the cave's rocks.

Leomon broke the silence. "Who are you?"

"You don't remember me?" Jeri asked. "It's me, Jeri."

"I don't know a Jeri," Leomon replied. Then he spied the Digivice in her hand—the one belonging to Kari. "How did you get that? You're a DigiDestined?"

Jeri shook her head. "No. This belongs to my friend." She pocketed the Digivice and took out her own. "This one belongs to me. I'm a Digimon Tamer. You should remember. You were my partner."

"I never had a human partner," Leomon said. "I'm afraid you're mistaking."

Jeri frowned. "But you must be him. I came all this way looking for my lost partner. If you aren't him…then you must know something about him."

Leomon paused briefly, letting Jeri's words sink in. "Your partner was a Leomon?"

Jeri nodded. "The best partner a Tamer could have."

"You must be referring to one of our fallen brothers," Leomon sighed.

"Brothers?" Jeri repeated.

"I am a part of an entire clan. There are many Leomon scattered across the Digital World, seeking justice for all and fighting those who threaten it. We are a noble bunch and, in many cases, our nobility requires us to make the ultimate sacrifice."

"What do you mean?"

"Many Leomon have given their lives to protect the innocent and save the Digital World from evil. One Leomon tried to stand up to MetalEtemon and sacrificed himself to stop the fiend before he could destroy the DigiDestined. Another Leomon actually made the brave trek into the human world to protect the innocent there. Legend says he also gave his life."

Jeri's eyes widened. "That's him! That's my Leomon!"

"You knew the Leomon of legend? The one who ventured into the human world to combat the Devas?"

"Yes! That's him! And…for a while…I thought you were him. When my friend told me of a Leomon she saw in the Digital World…I started getting my hopes up that you might be him."

Leomon hung his head down. "I am sorry to disappoint you."

"No…it's ok. In a way…this is a form of closure. I just wish…things could be different. I miss him."

Leomon nodded. "I know you must miss him. All fallen Leomon have proven themselves to be great heroes. Yours was no different. The Digital World would not be what it is today without him."

Jeri hung her head down. "More than that, though, I wish he was around to help me. There's someone out there sending evil Digimon into my world and trying to abduct my friend. Someone known as The Digimon Empress."

"Did you say 'The Digimon Empress'?" Leomon gasped.

Jeri looked up. "Yes I did. You know about her?"

"Who doesn't know about her? She's left this world in chaos and she needs to be stopped."

"You could stop her! The Leomon I knew was the bravest Digimon in both worlds! You have more than enough courage to stop someone like her!"

"Not by myself," Leomon sighed. "There's no way I could take her and her minions on by myself."

Jeri took Leomon's hand. "Maybe we won't have to. I have an idea."

Ken leaned over to try and listen in, but he tripped on a rock, which rolled through the ground. The echo was enough to get Leomon's attention. The lion took out his dagger.

"Who's there? Show yourself!"

Wormmon slithered out and raised his hands. "No need to get nasty. We're all friends here."

Jeri gasped. "Wormmon? Ken? What are you doing here?"

Having blown his cover, Ken stepped out of his hiding place and into the open. "We came looking for you. Takato was getting worried, so…he wanted to make use of my detective skills."

"And what great detectives we are," Wormmon grinned. "Well Ken, I guess we can consider this case closed."

Jeri crossed her arms. "And why is Takato worried about me?"

Ken bashfully scratched the back of his head. "He…just wanted to see where you were going all this time. He didn't know why you've never been around."

Jeri shook her head. "That should be none of his business where I've been going. But…I guess I have been pretty secretive. But this secret isn't ready to come out yet. I have a plan and I don't want to risk it somehow spreading to the wrong people. It'll take a lot of work, but it could help everything get better. You want in?"

Wormmon tugged on Ken's pant leg. "Sooner or later, everyone's going to wonder where we are. Are you sure this is a good idea?"

It didn't take long for Ken to render a verdict. "If it helps things get better, count me in."

* * *

Diligently studying for her finals that were coming up, Kari didn't want to leave her dorm room for any reason. She certainly didn't want to let anything distract her from what would certainly be the most difficult time of her freshman year. But unfortunately, overprotective big brother Tai had other plans. Kari couldn't get any studying done with people seemingly looking over her shoulder.

The worst of them, so far, was Davis. Kari didn't know what to think anymore. She felt betrayed. She put all her trust in Davis and he had let her down. It wasn't anything personal. It was a matter of trust.

It was the same reason she broke up with TK — trust issues.

The worst of it all was that Davis was seemingly reverting to his old self. Ever since this whole fight escalated, Davis has become the obnoxious, love-crazed fool that she couldn't stand back when they were kids. She thought he had matured from such a state of being.

At this point, Kari was starting to wonder if maybe it was time for her to take a break from boys, period — at least until the end of finals week.

"Hello?" a familiar voice called out from behind the door. "Kari?"

Kari breathed a frustrated sigh. It was time for the next person to take a shift watching over her. But sadly, she recognized the voice and didn't know if this one would be any better than Davis.

She opened the door and put on a half-smile. "Come in, TK."

TK was looking more bashful than usual. He seemed almost nervous to come in, but he eventually gathered the nerve. Kari knew why. The last time he saw her, she was drunk in Yolei's room, nearly falling over and generally looking foolish. Upon thinking about that, Kari started to blush herself.

"I'm kinda glad to see you," Kari said cheerfully. "I've been having so much trouble concentrating lately, especially with certain distractions and all."

TK took a seat on the floor. "I'll bet. Have you been able to study at all?"

Kari pointed over at the TV a few feet away. TK looked over and sweatdropped. There was a big distraction…in the form of Renamon and Gatomon having a friendly little competition.

"My Persian's about to beat your Ninetails, Renamon!"

"That's what you think, cat! My Ninetails is about to fry your Persian!"

Kari sweatdropped. "They've been at it all day…and they aren't exactly quiet about…"

"BOOYAH! Told you your Ninetails couldn't beat my Persian!"

"It was a lucky shot! I never expected your Persian to use a Fissure attack."

"I got next!" Calumon shouted excitedly. "My Togetic can take on all comers!"

TK nodded. "I guess it's been that kind of day."

"And it doesn't help that Davis tried to make up with me earlier," Kari sighed. "He just doesn't get it, TK. This isn't an issue of whether he loves me or not. It's about trust. And these days, I can't trust too many people. And I'm not the type who sticks around for people who violate my trust."

"You can say that again," TK said under his breath.

"What was that?"

"Uh…nothing."

"Oh…well, it got to a point where I just didn't want to hear it anymore. I have other things on my mind that I need to be concentrating on. I can't believe that Tai set up this stupid shift system. I'm not an eight-year-old girl anymore! I can take care of myself! I don't need people babysitting me!"

"We're just worried about you, that's all."

"But why, TK? Do you guys really believe something bad will happen to me with Gatomon and Renamon around?"

"We can't take any chances. We don't know what Rosa wants with you and we don't know what'll happen if she gets to you! We care about you too much to let anything happen to you."

Kari slammed her hands on her desk in frustration. "You know, I'm getting just a little tired of people acting like I'm so defenseless! I'm not who I used to be, TK! I grew up! I'm not a little girl!"

"But not yet a woman," TK cracked.

"Would you stop it?!" Kari snapped. "I'm being serious!" When TK's smile faded, she continued. "I'm not a little eight-year-old kid who needs all the big kids watching her every second. I can take care of myself! I don't know how many times I'm going to have to tell everyone that!"

Kari felt a furry paw on her back. She turned around and saw Gatomon standing next to her.

"We know you can take care of yourself, Kari," Gatomon said. "But you can't take on the world by yourself. Sometimes we all need a little help."

"I just wish people would trust me more," Kari sighed. "That's all I want."

"You seem to have a lot of issues about trust," TK noted. "And I should know that better than anybody."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Kari asked curiously.

"Nothing," TK shrugged. "Shouldn't you be studying?"

Kari closed her textbook. "No, I want to hear this now. What do you mean by that?"

"It was nothing. Just a random comment."

Kari furrowed her brow. "Somehow, I doubt that."

"Just study."

Kari hesitantly opened her textbook and slowly shifted her eyes towards the pages. She didn't know what TK meant and it didn't appear as if he would talk to her about it. But maybe he had a point. Kari and the issue of trust have clashed on more than one occasion. It wasn't easy for Kari to trust a lot of people. As friendly and cheerful as she was, lately it hasn't been easy for her to be trusting.

Perhaps it coincided with this pain she was feeling — the feeling that came with the darkness that would just not stop haunting her.

* * *

Back in the robotics lab, Terriermon put the finishing touches on Guardromon. He reached for the various tools he needed with each ear and made the proper adjustments with his hands. Once Terriermon was finished, he placed the android's panel back where it belonged and stepped off the crate he was standing on.

"Ok Veemon, plug it in!"

"Are you sure about this?" Patamon asked with a tone of uncertainty.

"Trust me, this'll work," Terriermon said. "I've seen this done on TV hundreds of time. It's a little thing they call 'shock therapy'. In this case, I've strapped wires to the temples of Guardromon's head. Whenever he says something dopey, I inject him with a small electric shock using this remote control I hold in my hand."

"How small a shock are we talking here?"

"Well, you've also got to think about the fact that he's a machine-type, so he can take a lot more than humans..."

"How small, Terriermon?"

"Only 20 amps, the same number you'd find in a typical living room socket."

"Are you insane?!" Patamon snapped. "What's the matter with you?"

"I remember when Davish stuck a fork in a living room socket once," Veemon chimed in. "He lit up like a Christmas tree."

"See?" Terriermon grinned. "If a bonehead like Davis can shock himself like that and still walk, then Guardromon should be fine. Now let's give him a test. Guardromon, are you ready?"

"Ready," the machine-type responded.

"Ok then. Guardromon, try and say something smart."

"Something smart."

Terriermon chuckled. "Wrong answer."

With that, Terriermon turned the knob on his remote control. Veemon and Patamon cringed as they heard the sparks and sizzles coming from Guardromon. Veemon tried to inch towards the machine-type, but was met with a loud spark, sending him rolling backwards in a panic.

Hoping to work off the first example, Terriermon moved on towards his next experiment. He took out a can of tuna and displayed it to Guardromon.

"What's in this can?"

Guardromon took the can in his hand. "Chicken…by the sea."

"Wrong!"

Terriermon turned the knob more this time around, sending more shockwaves through Guardromon's system. Patamon was covering his eyes at this point and Veemon couldn't turn his eyes away from what was quickly turning into quite a light show. After about a minute, Terriermon mercifully turned the knob back down.

"How are you feeling, Guardromon?" Terriermon asked.

"Like…a mil-million…bolts…b-b-b-bolts," Guardromon stammered.

"Then you're ready for another test."

"Uh…Terriermon, I think he's had enough," Patamon cut in.

"I'll tell you when he's had enough!" Terriermon snapped. He then took out a stack of flashcards with pictures on them. "Ok Guardromon, I'm going to show you a picture and you tell me what it is. Ready? Go!"

Guardromon examined each picture. "Dog…cat…ostrich…gorilla…duck…squirrel…"

Then Terriermon switched to a picture of a certain furry animal with webbed feet, a duck's bill, and a beaver's tail.

Guardromon paused before answering. "Platy-ma-pus."

Terriermon covered his face in shame with his right ear before turning the knob with his hand. This time, he turned it up even more. The result was louder snaps and a bigger shower of sparks.

"He looks like a Christmas tree," Veemon noted.

"I think you've made your point," Patamon grumbled. "Turn it down!"

"Fine," Terriermon sighed. He tried to turn the knob…but it suddenly broke. "Uh oh. That's not good."

Sensing panic, Terriermon jumped off the crate and rushed over to unplug the wires, but was met with a sharp electric shock upon reaching for the outlet. Terriermon briefly lit up before falling on his back with swirled eyes. Veemon and Patamon ran over to their fallen friend.

"You ok?" Veemon asked.

"Chicken by the sea," Terriermon slurred deliriously. "Really DOESN'T make sense, does it?" Veemon frantically slapped him in the face repeatedly until he came to. Terriermon looked around. "The circuit breakers!"

Veemon and Patamon ran towards the janitor's closet that was sitting by the corner. Patamon flew up and opened up the circuit breaker door and flipped all the switches. The entire building went dark, but thankfully that meant Terriermon could unplug Guardromon. After pulling the plug, Terriermon slowly approached the android, being careful not to trip over anything on the ground.

"Hey, big guy. You ok?"

"Two plus two is four…two plus two is four…is four…is four."

Terriermon blinked. "Well, I did the best I could. If shock therapy doesn't work, I don't know how you'll win the Robotics Fair." Then he picked up the remains of the remote control. "Unless…I tweak this a little bit."

Terriermon held onto the remote. Maybe some modifications would be all that's needed.

* * *

Rika sat in the library with her head buried in one of her textbooks. As much as she hated to admit it, college was starting to get the better of her. Pressure was starting to overcome her and her grades were beginning to suffer. Of course, part of that reason was because of sudden drama and Digimon attacks. Though these were circumstances Rika couldn't have foreseen, it seemed that everyone else could handle the distractions with ease. Especially Kari, who was pulling in a 4.0. With most of the danger surrounding her, Rika would have thought she would have at least had a blemish. Of course, if she did—she just wouldn't be Miss Perfect.

But Rika didn't want to be left in the dust. That's why she had practically imprisoned herself in the library for the last few days. With finals coming up, she couldn't afford to slack off at all.

Of course, she couldn't avoid ALL distractions.

"Hey, Rika!"

Rika raised her head from her book and was startled upon seeing Ryo's face up close. But her momentary alarm soon shifted into that all-too-familiar Rika anger.

"How did you get here?!" she demanded. "Only students are allowed in this library!"

"Hey, keep your voice down," Ryo grinned. "We're in a library, you know."

"How did you get in here?" Rika snarled again.

Ryo flashed a visitor's pass. "Takato and Henry got me this visitor's pass. So what are you up to?"

Rika breathed a sigh of discontent. "I'm studying. Do you have something to say?"

Ryo's grin didn't fade. "As a matter of fact, I do. I've got good news. Care to guess what it is?"

"You're moving to another country?"

Ryo scoffed. "Yeah right. No, I'm actually coming to Odaiba U next year."

Rika's jaw nearly dropped. Her textbook fell on the desk with a loud thud. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah! What do you think?"

Rika didn't know what to say. This was the last thing she expected to hear…and also the last thing she WANTED to hear. But she didn't see any sign of that mischievous gleam in Ryo's eyes. He was dead serious.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Rika said with disdain.

"Nope. I'm serious," Ryo said, almost teasingly. He moved his hand over and leaned in closer. "You'll get to see me everyday."

Rika wasn't taking any of this with good humor. She slammed her textbook shut on Ryo's fingers.

"OW!"

"You think this is funny, Ryo?" Rika growled. "What suddenly made you decide to come here?"

"Well, I see everyone coming here to make something of themselves and I figure I should join in. I want to make something of myself. I want to give my life some direction. And it'll be great to go to school with all my friends…and you."

Rika shook her head. "I need to take a walk."

She got up and started to walk out. Ryo's smile finally started to fall to a frown. He swung over the desk and got back on his feet.

"Aren't you at least gonna congratulate me?"

Rika growled under her breath. She turned around shook her head. "You just don't get it, do you?"

"Um…is there something I should know?"

Rika turned around and just kept her angry stare. "I really don't feel like spelling it out for you."

* * *

After her class was finished, Talley made an urgent phone call. She was hoping he'd answer right away, but there was no response. All she got was the taunting busy signal that rang through her ears for the last three hours. Talley hung up and dialed again. Finally, Talley just decided to leave a message.

"Yamaki, this is Talley. I need you to get back to me. I don't know what it is, but there's something telling me that reviving the Juggernaut project isn't the solution. Whether you believe you worked out all the bugs or not, there's something telling me that this isn't going to work the way you want it to. There has to be another way. Get back to me as soon as you get this message."

Talley hung up the phone. She was growing increasingly frustrated that her pleas were going unnoticed. And she couldn't deny the bad feeling she was getting about this whole thing. She didn't want to see a repeat of what happened after the D-Reaper attack. Talley remembered the great loss experienced by the Tamers.

But more than that, Talley was getting the feeling that something really bad was about to happen if Juggernaut was reinitiated.

She needed to get in contact with Izzy.

* * *

Impmon tossed a fireball from the roof of the freshman dorm building. With Renamon and Gatomon getting along like buddies now, things were quickly starting to get boring again. All he could do was toss down an occasional fireball and hope it created some excitement.

One thing that did excite Impmon for a while was the battle he engaged in. He never expected to be getting back in a fight, especially as Beelzemon, but it was great to hold his trademark guns again. He missed the days when he was tearing through the D-Reaper's minions like nobody's business. Beelzemon was a serious force to be reckoned with.

But now he was just plain old Impmon, tossing miniscule fireballs down a dorm roof for a cheap thrill.

"Hey, we need to talk."

Impmon stopped everything when he heard a voice. He realized he wasn't alone anymore. He turned around and saw the kid with the goggles on his head. It was Kari's friend.

"Ya wanna talk to me? You're Davis, right? What d'ya want? I'm busy over here."

"I just have some things I need to ask you," Davis began. "I knew you looked familiar and there was something about the way Kari described you that just…rang a bell with me. Then there was the other day and it all started to come back to me. And now I know your secret…Beelzemon."

Impmon lit a fireball and tossed it at Davis's feet. "How'd you know that? How'd you know who I am?"

Davis hopped out of the way. "I had a little talk with Terriermon last night. I knew you looked familiar."

"Well that's really funny, kid, 'cause I ain't never seen youse before in my life."

"You don't remember the Dark Ocean?"

Impmon's face fell upon hearing the words that still haunted him. "H-H-How do you know about that? You know about the Dark Ocean?"

"Do YOU?"

"I…I…I don't…" Impmon paused to breathe a dejected sigh. "Alright, kid. What do you want to know?"

"Exactly what I asked you. I want to know if you remember the Dark Ocean."

"There's a lot I remember about the Dark Ocean…and a lot that I don't. It's a long story, kid. You got a while?"

"I have all night. It's not like I'm gonna spend my time doing homework."

"Well, sit back, kid. 'Cause this here's a long story…"

  


Next Time: Impmon recalls his memories of the Dark Ocean (dating back to before, during, and after "Keeping Secrets"). Some of them will surprise you. Why is Rika so upset about Ryo coming to Odaiba U next year? How chaotic will things get when the rest of the DigiDestined Digimon arrive in the dorms? And next week's the big Robotics Fair. How will Guardromon fare? And how will Terriermon affect the outcome?

  


Any comments? Then mail me at AmericanCaptor@hotmail.com and don't forget to review below!


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